NUMERICAL MODELING OF BIOMASS GASIFICATION USING COW DUNG AS FEEDSTOCK

Highlights

● Gasification of cow dung was evaluated using Aspen Plus software.

● Optimum reaction conditions were utilized to maximize hydrogen production.

● Steam gasification can effectively increase hydrogen production.

● Optimum hydrogen production was achieved at 800 °C and steam/biomass of 1.5 and 0.1 MPa.

Abstract

In this study, a biomass gasification model was developed and simulated based on Gibbs free energy minimization by using software Aspen Plus. Two reactors, RYIELD and RGIBBS, were moslty used. The biomass feedstock used was cow dung. The model was validated. The composition, H₂/CO ratio and low heating value (LHV) of the resulting synthetic gas (also known as syngas) was estimated by changing the operating parameters of gasification temperatures, steam and biomass ratios and pressures. Simulation results showed that increased gasification temperature helped to elevate H₂ and CO content and H₂ peaked at 900 °C. When steam increased as the gasification agent, H₂ production increased. However, the steam/biomass (S/B) ratio negatively affected CO and CH₄, resulting in lower LHV. The optimal S/B ratio was 1.5. An increase in pressure lead to a decrease in H₂ and CO content, so the optimal pressure for gasification was 0.1 MPa.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Aspen Plus / biomass gasification / manure of livestock and poultry / simulation / syngas

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52076069, 51706062 and 51576060); National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFD1700904-07); The Plan for Science & Technology Innovation Teams in Universities of Henan Province (20IRTSTHN006).

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Yajun Zhang, Sen Yao, Jianjun Hu, Jiaxi Xia, Tao Xie, Zhibin Zhang, and Hai Li declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. All applicable institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2023. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)