Title: Energy and exergy characteristics of syngas produced from air gasification of walnut sawdust in an entrained flow reactor

Authors: Yaning Zhang; Yijun Zhao; Bingxi Li; Xiaoyan Gao; Baocheng Jiang

Addresses: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China; Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, 55108, USA ' School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China ' School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China ' School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China ' School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Abstract: Energy and exergy are two important tools for evaluating energy sources. The energy and exergy of syngas produced from air gasification of walnut sawdust in an entrained flow reactor were detailed for typical reactor temperatures (700, 800, and 900°C) and equivalence ratios (0.22, 0.25, 0.28, 0.31, and 0.34). The results showed that the overall energy distribution was CO > (CH₄, H₂, N₂, C₂H₄) > CO₂ whereas the overall exergy distribution was CO > (CH₄, H₂) > C₂H₄ > N₂ > CO₂. The results that different component gases contributed differently to the energy and exergy of syngas were due to the fact that different component gases had different exergy/energy ratios. However, both the energy and exergy of syngas achieved the highest values at the same reactor temperature and equivalence ratio. The results obtained from this study can help understand the energy and exergy of syngas produced from biomass gasification as well as the effects of reactor temperature, equivalence ratio (ER), and fuel characteristics on the energy and exergy of syngas.

Keywords: energy; exergy; syngas; gasification; sawdust.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2017.085772

International Journal of Exergy, 2017 Vol.23 No.3, pp.244 - 262

Received: 07 Oct 2016
Accepted: 29 Apr 2017
Published online: 12 Aug 2017 *

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