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Thermodynamic modelling of fate and removal of alkali species and sour gases from biomass gasification for production of biofuels

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Abstract

The development of advanced synthesis gas cleaning technologies based on chemical conversion and physical separation can improve the efficiency of gasification processes for production of biofuels. This paper outlines thermodynamic equilibrium calculations on the release and removal of alkali species and sour gases during gasification of 24 different types of herbaceous and woody biomass under the conditions of the gasifier in Güssing, Austria. In general, the calculation results are in good agreement with former experimental results. The composition of the gasifier derived as well as the cleaned gas strongly depends on the used feedstock. The alkali concentration can be limited to values below 100 ppbv using aluminosilicates at 850 °C. The H2S concentration cannot be limited to values below 200 ppmv using conventional Ca- or Cu-based sorbents but can be limited to values below 1 ppmv by stabilised BaO at 850 °C. The HCl concentration can be limited to values below 1 ppmv by alkali carbonates at temperatures below 550 °C.

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Acknowledgments

The work described in this paper has been done in the framework of the “GreenSyngas” project and the “UNIQUE” project, both funded by the EC in the 7th framework program (contract numbers 213628 and 211517, respectively).

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  1. Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-2, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany

    Michael Stemmler, Angela Tamburro & Michael Müller

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  1. Michael Stemmler
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  2. Angela Tamburro
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Correspondence to Michael Müller.

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Stemmler, M., Tamburro, A. & Müller, M. Thermodynamic modelling of fate and removal of alkali species and sour gases from biomass gasification for production of biofuels. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 3, 187–198 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-013-0073-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-013-0073-7

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