Thermodynamics of Gasification

Prof. Dr. Javaid Rabbani Khan

Thermodynamics & kinetics

For the theoretical background to any chemical process :

Thermodynamics

(the state to which the process will move under specific conditions of pressure and temperature, given sufficient time) Kinetics (what route will it take and how fast will it get there)

REACTIONS

During the process of gasification of solid carbon are in the form of

Coal, Coke, Char, Carbon, Carbon monoxide, Carbon dioxide, Hydrogen, Water (or steam), and Methane

The principle chemical reactions are those involving

Combustion reactions C+ O2 = CO CO+ O2 = CO2 H2 + O2 = H2O Boudouard reaction C+CO2 2 CO water gas reaction C+H2O CO+H2 Methanation reaction C+2 H2 CH4

111 MJ/kmol 283 MJ/kmol 242 MJ/kmol +172 MJ/kmol

+131 MJ/kmol
75 MJ/kmol

CO shift reaction CO+H2O CO2 +H2 41 MJ/kmol Steam methane reforming reaction CH4+H2O CO2 +3 H2 + 206 MJ/kmol

For real fuels (including coal, which also contains hydrogen) the overall reaction: CnHm + n/2 O2 = n CO +m/2 H2 where for gas, as pure methane, m= 4 and n = 1, hence m/n = 4, and for oil, m/n 2, hence m = 2 and n = 1,and for coal, m/n 1, hence m = 1 and n = 1

Thermodynamic Equilibrium
In general, the forward and the reverse reactions take place simultaneously and at different rates For any given temperature these reaction rates are proportional to the quantity of reactants available For CO shift reaction, the forward reaction rate, rf, is proportional to the molar concentrations of CO and H2O per unit volume rf = kf [CO] [H2O] Where Constant of proportionality kf is temperature dependant

Similarly, for the reverse reaction rr = kr [CO2] [H2] Over a period of time these two reaction rates will tend to reach a common value and the gas composition will have reached a state of equilibrium

where Kp is the temperature dependant equilibrium constant for the CO shift reaction

Assuming ideal gases this can also be expressed as

where PCO is the partial pressure and vCO is the volume fraction PCO / P of CO in the gas

For the Boudouard reaction

For the water gas reaction

For the reforming reaction

where P is the total absolute pressure of the gas The temperature dependency of these equilibrium constants can be derived from a correlation as
T is the absolute temperature in Kelvin

THERMODYNAMIC MODELING OF GASIFICATION

The designer has the task of calculating a limited number of design cases
Throughputs

of the different feedstocks, Gas compositions, Heat effects, Quench requirements, Startup and shutdown requirements, Optimal conditions for the design feedstocks, Process control requirements.

Purpose of Gasification Modeling

The calculation of the gas composition. The calculation of the relative amounts of oxygen and/or steam and/or heat required per unit fuel intake. The optimization of the energy in the form of the heat of combustion of the product gas or, alternatively, of the synthesis gas production per unit fuel intake. To provide set points for process control

Calculations comprising the gasification are based on

Thermodynamics,

Mass

and energy balances and Process conditions,

Temperature Pressure
The

addition or subtraction of indirect heat

For coal both must be known Proximate analysis

fixed

carbon volatile matter Moisture ash

Ultimate analysis
elemental,

apart from ash

Feedstocks

Feedstocks for gasification may vary from

natural coal

gas to heavy oil residues

waste

streams and biomass

For calculations following must be known

The

elemental composition The standard heat of formation of the fuels

Coal

Composition and combustion data for coal are often very confusing as based on
as-received

(ar), moisture-free (mf), ash-free (af), ash-and-moisture-free (maf)

The heating value can be given as

LHV HHV

Moderator

The most common moderator used in gasification processes is steam but CO2 also used as moderator The steam must have a minimum temperature corresponding to that of saturated steam at the pressure prevailing in the gasifier, otherwise condensation in the lines to the gasifier will occur. In general, steam is used that is superheated to a temperature of 300400C. At pressures above 40 bar this superheat is mandatory, since otherwise the steam becomes wet on expansion.

Equations

The following equations will apply in virtually all gasification processes

Carbon balance. Hydrogen balance. Oxygen balance. Dalton equation, stating that the sum of the mole fractions in the product gas equals unity Heat balance Reaction constants of the relevant reactions Sulfur balance. Nitrogen balance Ash balance. Argon balance

Variables

1. 2. 3.

4.
5.

it is necessary to define eight variables for the heterogeneous case and seven for the homogeneous one to provide a mathematically soluble problem Five variables that virtually always apply in gasification are the gas component fractions in the synthesis gas for CO2, CO, H2, CH4, H2O

1. 2. 3.

4.
5.

The remaining three variables in case of heterogeneous gasification and two in the case of homogeneous gasification may be selected from the following list: Fuel used per kmole product gas. Blast (oxidant) used per kmole product gas. Moderator (mostly steam) used per kmole product gas. Heat loss from the gasifier reactor or heat required for the gasification. Gasification temperature

DEDUCTIONS FROM THE THERMODYNAMIC MODEL

Effect of Pressure Effect of Temperature

Effect of Pressure

1.

2.

practically all modern processes are operated at pressures of at least 10 bar and up to as high as 100 bar. we can compare the energy required to provide 100,000Nm3/h raw synthesis gas at 45 bar by either gasifying at a relatively low pressure (5 bar) and compressing the synthesis gas, or alternatively, compressing the feedstocks to 55 bar (allowing for pressure drop in the system) and gasifying at the higher pressure.

Comparison of Compression Energy for Low and HighPressure Gasification

Variation of Syngas Compositions with Temperature at 1000C

Variations of Yields with Temperature at 1000C

Effect of Temperature

The temperature is generally selected on the basis of the ash properties For process control purposes where ratios between fuel, oxygen, and/or steam are known, the temperature can be calculated Since most modern gasification processes operate at pressures of 30 bar or higher, temperatures of above 1300C are required in order to produce a synthesis gas with a low methane content

Variations of Syngas Compositions and Yields at 1500C

Variation of Syngas Compositions with Pressure at 30 bar

Variation of Yields with Pressure at 30 bar

Optimum Operating Point

Efficiencies The two most commonly encountered are

cold

gas efficiency (CGE) carbon conversion

Cold gas efficiency

Cold gas efficiency is defined as :

Carbon conversion efficiency

Carbon conversion efficiency is defined as

Cold gas efficiency

Syngas yields for coal