Design and cold flow testing of a Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor demonstration unit for biomass fast pyrolysis

Arturo Gonzalez-Quiroga; Pieter A. Reyniers; Shekhar R. Kulkarni; Maria M. Torregrosa; Patrice Perreault; Geraldine J. Heynderickx; Kevin M. Van Geem; Guy B. Marin

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2017.06.003

Design and cold flow testing of a Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor demonstration unit for biomass fast pyrolysis

Arturo Gonzalez-Quiroga, Pieter A. Reyniers, Shekhar R. Kulkarni, Maria M. Torregrosa, Patrice Perreault, Geraldine J. Heynderickx, Kevin M. Van Geem^*, Guy B. Marin

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

59 Scopus citations

Abstract

Innovative gas-solid fluidized beds with process intensification capabilities are among the most promising alternatives for the current state of the art in the chemical industry. In the present work the advantages of such a reactor that sustains a rotating fluidized bed with gas-solid slip velocities much higher than those in conventional fluidized beds are illustrated computationally and experimentally. A Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor (GSVR) demonstration unit is designed to operate at typical biomass fast pyrolysis conditions targeting the production of chemicals and fuels from renewable feedstocks. For the demonstration unit preheated N₂ supplies the thermal energy required by the fast pyrolysis process but alternative sources can also be evaluated. A broad range of operation conditions in the 80 mm diameter and 15 mm height GSVR can be evaluated: N₂ mass flow rates of 5–10 g s⁻¹ and biomass feed mass flow rates of 0.14–1.4 g s⁻¹. Particle-free and particulate flow experiments confirmed that the carrier gas is evenly distributed around the GSVR cylindrical chamber as anticipated by computational fluid dynamic simulations. The latter also supported the inclusion of a profiled bottom end wall and a diverging exhaust. Cold flow experiments with biomass confirmed that the GSVR sustains a rotating fluidized bed with average bed height of 10 mm and solids azimuthal velocities of 6–7 m s⁻¹.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	198-210
Number of pages	13
Journal	Chemical Engineering Journal
Volume	329
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2017.06.003
State	Published - Dec 1 2017

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ERC grant agreement n° 290793 and the‘Long Term Structural Methusalem Funding by the Flemish Government’. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 664876. The SBO proposal ‘‘Bioleum” supported by the Institute for Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT) is acknowledged. The computational work was carried out using the STEVIN Supercomputer Infrastructure at Ghent University, funded by Ghent University, the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC), the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government – department EWI. Pieter Reyniers acknowledges financial support from a doctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Dr. Vladimir Shtern is acknowledged for the scientific discussions on swirling jets and the GSVR diverging exhaust.

Funding Information:
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ERC grant agreement n° 290793 and the‘Long Term Structural Methusalem Funding by the Flemish Government’. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 664876. The SBO proposal ‘‘Bioleum” supported by the Institute for Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT) is acknowledged. The computational work was carried out using the STEVIN Supercomputer Infrastructure at Ghent University, funded by Ghent University , the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC), the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government – department EWI. Pieter Reyniers acknowledges financial support from a doctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Dr. Vladimir Shtern is acknowledged for the scientific discussions on swirling jets and the GSVR diverging exhaust.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

Bio-oil
Biomass
Fast pyrolysis
Fluidized bed
Process intensification
Reactors

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemistry
Environmental Chemistry
General Chemical Engineering
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.cej.2017.06.003

Cite this

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title = "Design and cold flow testing of a Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor demonstration unit for biomass fast pyrolysis",

abstract = "Innovative gas-solid fluidized beds with process intensification capabilities are among the most promising alternatives for the current state of the art in the chemical industry. In the present work the advantages of such a reactor that sustains a rotating fluidized bed with gas-solid slip velocities much higher than those in conventional fluidized beds are illustrated computationally and experimentally. A Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor (GSVR) demonstration unit is designed to operate at typical biomass fast pyrolysis conditions targeting the production of chemicals and fuels from renewable feedstocks. For the demonstration unit preheated N2 supplies the thermal energy required by the fast pyrolysis process but alternative sources can also be evaluated. A broad range of operation conditions in the 80 mm diameter and 15 mm height GSVR can be evaluated: N2 mass flow rates of 5–10 g s−1 and biomass feed mass flow rates of 0.14–1.4 g s−1. Particle-free and particulate flow experiments confirmed that the carrier gas is evenly distributed around the GSVR cylindrical chamber as anticipated by computational fluid dynamic simulations. The latter also supported the inclusion of a profiled bottom end wall and a diverging exhaust. Cold flow experiments with biomass confirmed that the GSVR sustains a rotating fluidized bed with average bed height of 10 mm and solids azimuthal velocities of 6–7 m s−1.",

keywords = "Bio-oil, Biomass, Fast pyrolysis, Fluidized bed, Process intensification, Reactors",

author = "Arturo Gonzalez-Quiroga and Reyniers, {Pieter A.} and Kulkarni, {Shekhar R.} and Torregrosa, {Maria M.} and Patrice Perreault and Heynderickx, {Geraldine J.} and {Van Geem}, {Kevin M.} and Marin, {Guy B.}",

note = "Funding Information: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ERC grant agreement n° 290793 and the{\textquoteleft}Long Term Structural Methusalem Funding by the Flemish Government{\textquoteright}. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 664876. The SBO proposal {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}Bioleum” supported by the Institute for Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT) is acknowledged. The computational work was carried out using the STEVIN Supercomputer Infrastructure at Ghent University, funded by Ghent University, the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC), the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government – department EWI. Pieter Reyniers acknowledges financial support from a doctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Dr. Vladimir Shtern is acknowledged for the scientific discussions on swirling jets and the GSVR diverging exhaust. Funding Information: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union{\textquoteright}s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ERC grant agreement n° 290793 and the{\textquoteleft}Long Term Structural Methusalem Funding by the Flemish Government{\textquoteright}. This project has received funding from the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 664876. The SBO proposal {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}Bioleum” supported by the Institute for Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT) is acknowledged. The computational work was carried out using the STEVIN Supercomputer Infrastructure at Ghent University, funded by Ghent University , the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC), the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government – department EWI. Pieter Reyniers acknowledges financial support from a doctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Dr. Vladimir Shtern is acknowledged for the scientific discussions on swirling jets and the GSVR diverging exhaust. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 Elsevier B.V.",

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day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.cej.2017.06.003",

language = "English (US)",

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T1 - Design and cold flow testing of a Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor demonstration unit for biomass fast pyrolysis

AU - Gonzalez-Quiroga, Arturo

AU - Reyniers, Pieter A.

AU - Kulkarni, Shekhar R.

AU - Torregrosa, Maria M.

AU - Perreault, Patrice

AU - Heynderickx, Geraldine J.

AU - Van Geem, Kevin M.

AU - Marin, Guy B.

N1 - Funding Information: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ERC grant agreement n° 290793 and the‘Long Term Structural Methusalem Funding by the Flemish Government’. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 664876. The SBO proposal ‘‘Bioleum” supported by the Institute for Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT) is acknowledged. The computational work was carried out using the STEVIN Supercomputer Infrastructure at Ghent University, funded by Ghent University, the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC), the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government – department EWI. Pieter Reyniers acknowledges financial support from a doctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Dr. Vladimir Shtern is acknowledged for the scientific discussions on swirling jets and the GSVR diverging exhaust. Funding Information: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ERC grant agreement n° 290793 and the‘Long Term Structural Methusalem Funding by the Flemish Government’. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 664876. The SBO proposal ‘‘Bioleum” supported by the Institute for Promotion of Innovation through Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT) is acknowledged. The computational work was carried out using the STEVIN Supercomputer Infrastructure at Ghent University, funded by Ghent University , the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC), the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government – department EWI. Pieter Reyniers acknowledges financial support from a doctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Dr. Vladimir Shtern is acknowledged for the scientific discussions on swirling jets and the GSVR diverging exhaust. Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

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N2 - Innovative gas-solid fluidized beds with process intensification capabilities are among the most promising alternatives for the current state of the art in the chemical industry. In the present work the advantages of such a reactor that sustains a rotating fluidized bed with gas-solid slip velocities much higher than those in conventional fluidized beds are illustrated computationally and experimentally. A Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor (GSVR) demonstration unit is designed to operate at typical biomass fast pyrolysis conditions targeting the production of chemicals and fuels from renewable feedstocks. For the demonstration unit preheated N2 supplies the thermal energy required by the fast pyrolysis process but alternative sources can also be evaluated. A broad range of operation conditions in the 80 mm diameter and 15 mm height GSVR can be evaluated: N2 mass flow rates of 5–10 g s−1 and biomass feed mass flow rates of 0.14–1.4 g s−1. Particle-free and particulate flow experiments confirmed that the carrier gas is evenly distributed around the GSVR cylindrical chamber as anticipated by computational fluid dynamic simulations. The latter also supported the inclusion of a profiled bottom end wall and a diverging exhaust. Cold flow experiments with biomass confirmed that the GSVR sustains a rotating fluidized bed with average bed height of 10 mm and solids azimuthal velocities of 6–7 m s−1.

AB - Innovative gas-solid fluidized beds with process intensification capabilities are among the most promising alternatives for the current state of the art in the chemical industry. In the present work the advantages of such a reactor that sustains a rotating fluidized bed with gas-solid slip velocities much higher than those in conventional fluidized beds are illustrated computationally and experimentally. A Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor (GSVR) demonstration unit is designed to operate at typical biomass fast pyrolysis conditions targeting the production of chemicals and fuels from renewable feedstocks. For the demonstration unit preheated N2 supplies the thermal energy required by the fast pyrolysis process but alternative sources can also be evaluated. A broad range of operation conditions in the 80 mm diameter and 15 mm height GSVR can be evaluated: N2 mass flow rates of 5–10 g s−1 and biomass feed mass flow rates of 0.14–1.4 g s−1. Particle-free and particulate flow experiments confirmed that the carrier gas is evenly distributed around the GSVR cylindrical chamber as anticipated by computational fluid dynamic simulations. The latter also supported the inclusion of a profiled bottom end wall and a diverging exhaust. Cold flow experiments with biomass confirmed that the GSVR sustains a rotating fluidized bed with average bed height of 10 mm and solids azimuthal velocities of 6–7 m s−1.

KW - Bio-oil

KW - Biomass

KW - Fast pyrolysis

KW - Fluidized bed

KW - Process intensification

KW - Reactors

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VL - 329

SP - 198

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JO - Chemical Engineering Journal

JF - Chemical Engineering Journal

ER -

Design and cold flow testing of a Gas-Solid Vortex Reactor demonstration unit for biomass fast pyrolysis

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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