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Gasification
By:
Dr. Tazien Rashid
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History
The gasification process was originally developed
in the 1800s to produce town gas for lighting and
cooking.
Electricity and natural gas later replaced town gas
for these applications, but the gasification process
has been utilized for the production of synthetic
chemicals and fuels since the 1920s.
Wood gas generators, called Gasogene or
Gazogène, were used to power motor vehicles in
Europe during World War II fuel shortages.
3 What is gasification?

Gasification is a proven manufacturing

process that converts hydrocarbons
such as coal, petroleum coke and
biomass to a synthesis gas (syn gas),
which can be further processed to
produce chemicals, fertilizers, liquid
fuels, hydrogen, and electricity.
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How does gasification
work?
 A hydrocarbon feedstock is injected with oxygen and
steam into a high temperature pressurized reactor until the
chemical bonds of the feedstock are broken.
 The resulting reaction produces the syngas. The syngas is
then cleansed to remove impurities such as sulfur, mercury,
particulates, and trace minerals. (Carbon dioxide can also
be removed at this stage.)
 The clean syngas is then used to make either a single
product such as fertilizer or multiple products such as
hydrogen, steam, and electric power.
8 Gasification
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Which industries use
gasification?
 Gasification has been used commercially
around the world for more than 50 years by
the chemical, refining, and fertilizer
industries and for more than 35 years by the
electric power industry.
 There are more than 420 gasifiers currently in
use in some 140 facilities worldwide, with 19
plants operating in the United States.
 Gasification is also available to help in the
production of oil from the vast Canadian oil
sand deposits and substitute natural gas from
America’s abundant coal resources
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What are the economic
benefits of gasification?

Converts low-value feed stocks to high

value products.
Increasing the use of available energy
in the feed stocks while reducing
disposal cost
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What is the gasification
market outlook?

World gasification capacity is projected to

grow by more than 70% by 2020. More than
80% of the growth will occur in Asia, with
China expected to achieve the most rapid
expansion in gasification worldwide.
12 Gasification Chemistry

Gasification with Oxygen

C + 1/2 O2 CO Gasifier Gas
Composition
Combustion with Oxygen (Vol %)
Coal C + O2 CO2
H2 25 - 30
Gasification with Carbon Dioxide CO 30 - 60
C + CO2 2CO CO2 5 - 15
H2O 2 - 30
Gasification with Steam CH4 0-5
Oxygen C + H2O CO + H2
H2S 0.2 - 1
Gasification with Hydrogen COS 0 - 0.1
C + 2H2 CH4 N2 0.5 - 4
Ar 0.2 - 1
Water-Gas Shift NH3 + HCN 0 -0.3
Steam CO + H2O H2 + CO2
Ash/Slag/PM
Methanation
CO + 3H2 CH4 + H2O
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Gasification Technology
Overview:
A partial oxidation process that can convert any hydrocarbon
into hydrogen and carbon monoxide (synthesis gas or
syngas).
(CH)n + O2 H2 + CO
For example:

2 CH4 + O2 4H2 + 2 CO
[ Methane] [Oxygen] [Hydrogen] [Carbon
Monoxide]

Process Conditions: 1,800 – 2,800 Deg F, 400 – 1,000 psig

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15 Gasification is not Combustion

Gasification is a partial oxidation

(reaction) process which produces syngas
comprised primarily of hydrogen (H2) and
carbon monoxide (CO).
It is not a complete oxidation
(combustion) process, which produces
primarily thermal energy (heat) and solid
waste, criteria air pollutants (NOx and
SO2), and carbon dioxide (CO2).
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17 Cont…
Feedstock
Solids: All types of coal and petroleum coke (a
low value byproduct of refining) and biomass,
such as wood waste, agricultural waste, and
household waste.
Liquids: Liquid refinery residuals (including
asphalts, bitumen, and other oil sands residues)
and liquid wastes from chemical plants and
refineries.
Gas: Natural gas or refinery/ chemical offgas.
18 Cont…
Gasifiers
The core of the gasification system is the gasifiers,
a pressurized vessel where the feed material reacts
with oxygen (or air) and steam at high
temperatures. There are several basic gasifiers
designs.
Oxygen plant
Most gasification systems use almost pure oxygen
to help facilitate the reaction in the gasifiers. This
oxygen (95–99% purity) is generated in a plant.
19 Cont…
Gas Clean-Up
The raw syngas produced in the gasifiers contains
trace levels of impurities that must be removed
prior to its ultimate use.
After the gas is cooled, the trace minerals,
particulates, sulfur, mercury, and unconverted
carbon are removed to very low levels using
commercially proven cleaning processes common
to the chemical and refining industries.
20 Cont…

By-products
Most solid and liquid feed gasifiers produce
a glass-like byproduct called slag, which is
non hazardous and can be used in roadbed
construction or in roofing materials.
Also, in most gasification plants, more than
99% of the sulfur is removed and recovered
either as elemental sulfur or sulfuric acid.
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22 Cont…
23 Gasification Systems

Basic Gasifier Operating Conditions

 Most are entrained flow slagging oxygen blown units.
 Coal feed systems – two options
Slurry in water that is pumped to pressure.
Dry powder fed through lock hoppers
 High temperature (2500 oF or 1375 oC).
Results in ash from coal melting –slagging conditions.
Some gasifiers lined with refractory, others with water
cooled tubes.
Medium to high pressure (400 to 1000 psig).
Overall efficiency of Btu’s in coal to syngas is 70 to 80%.
24 Types of Gasifiers

Four types of gasifiers are

currently available for commercial
use:
Counter-current fixed bed
Co-current fixed bed
Entrained flow
Fluidized bed
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 FIXED BED GASIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES

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Counter-Current fixed bed ("up draft") gasifiers

 In an updraft gasifier, the biomass is supplied through the top of the reactor and
the air is injected through the bottom of the unit through a gate. Coke undergoes
partial oxidation that provides thermal energy needed for the various process
steps. The gas passes through the areas of reduction and pyrolysis and is cooled
down drying the biomass. This type of reactor does not allow for tar cracking,
thus the syngas produced may contain a high concentration of tar.
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29 Co-Current fixed bed ("down draft")

 In a downdraft gasifier, biomass and oxidizing agent flow in

the same direction. The product gas passes through the hot
zone which is able to crack tars formed during the reaction of
pyrolysis. The product gas thus leaves the reactor at a high
temperature, around 700 °C, with a minimum content of tar.
 The co-current fixed bed ("down draft") gasifiers is similar to
the counter-current type, but the gasification agent gas flows in
co-current configuration with the fuel (downwards, hence the
name "down draft gasifiers").
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 FLUID BED GASIFIER

31 Entrained flow gasifier

Operation
In entrained-flow gasifiers, fine coal feed and the oxidant (air or
oxygen) and/or steam are fed co-currently to the gasifier. This results in
the oxidant and steam surrounding or entraining the coal particles as
they flow through the gasifier in a dense cloud. Entrained-flow gasifiers
operate at high temperature and pressure—and extremely turbulent
flow—which causes rapid feed conversion and allows high
throughput. The gasification reactions occur at a very high rate
(typical residence time is on the order of few seconds), with high
carbon conversion efficiencies (98-99.5%).
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The tar, oil, phenols, and other liquids produced from devolatization of
coal inside the gasifier are decomposed into hydrogen (H2), carbon
monoxide (CO) and small amounts of light hydrocarbon gases.
Entrained-flow gasifiers have the ability to handle practically any coal
feedstock and produce a clean, tar-free syngas. Given the high
operating temperatures, gasifiers of this type melt the coal ash into
vitreous inert slag.

 The fine coal feed can be fed to the gasifier in either a dry or
slurry form. The former uses a lock hopper system, while the latter
relies on the use of high-pressure slurry pumps. The slurry feed is a
simpler operation, but it introduces water into the reactor which
needs to be evaporated. The result of this additional water is a
product syngas with higher H2 to CO ratio, but with a lower
gasifier thermal efficiency. The feed preparation system needs to
be evaluated along with other process design alternatives for a
particular application.
 FLUID BED GASIFIER

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Entrained flow gasifier
The fuel is finely pulverized in the jet of
gasifying agent (air, pure oxygen or air /
water vapor) and the reaction proceeds at
high temperature and high pressure,
thereby preventing the formation of tar and
methane.

 In the entrained flow gasifier a dry

pulverized solid, an atomized liquid fuel
or a fuel slurry is gasified with oxygen
(much less frequent: air) in co-current
flow.
 The gasification reactions take place in a
dense cloud of very fine particles.
 Most coals are suitable for this type of
gasifier because of the high operating
temperatures and because the coal
particles are well separated from one
another.
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• Fuel flexibility; can accept a variety of solid feedstocks

• Large oxidant requirements
• Can either be oxygen or air blown, but most commercial plants are
oxygen blown
• Uniform temperature within the reactor
• Slagging operation
• Short reactor residence time
• High carbon conversion, but low cold gas efficiency
• High level of sensible heat in product gas, heat recovery is required to
improve efficiency
• Environmentally most benign; produced syngas consists of mainly H2, CO
and carbon dioxide (CO2) with trace amount of other contaminants
which can be removed downstream of the reactor; glassy slag is inert
and easily disposed
35 FLUIDIZED BED GASIFIERS:
THE WINKLER GASIFIER
 commercialized in 1926.
 major issue with this gasifier is that the entrained ash
contains a significant quantity of unreacted carbon.
 The solid fuel is fluidized by the addition of air at high
velocity into the bed which is made of small diameter
particles such as sand or alumina to improve the
fluidization. The solid thus behaves as a fluid for a
good homogenization of temperature and reactants.
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Types of solids gasifier

Moving (fixed) bed Fluid bed Entrained flow

6-50mm 2-10mm 70-200µm

Slagging/ Non-slagging Slagging
Non-slagging
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Gasification System
39 Advantages

 Effective gas cleaning system;

 Low negative impact upon environment;
 Unburned charcoal remains after pyrolysis while only ash
remains after gasification;
 Gasification is a less power-consuming process than
pyrolysis
 Due to lower temperature during gasification as against
combustion, formation of NOx is also much less
intensive.
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Gasifier Types
Flow Regime Moving (or "Fixed") Bed Fluidized Bed Entrained Flow
Combustion
grate fired combustors fluidized bed combustors pulverized coal combustors
Analogy
Fuel Type solids only solids only solids or liquids
Fuel Size 5 - 50 mm 0.5 - 5 mm < 500 microns
Residence Time 15 - 30 minutes 5 - 50 seconds 1 - 10 seconds
Oxidant air- or oxygen-blown air- or oxygen-blown almost always oxygen-blown
Gas Outlet Temp. 400 - 500 ºC 700 – 900 ºC 900 – 1400 ºC
Ash Handling slagging and non-slagging non-slagging always slagging
Commercial Lurgi dry-ash (non-slagging), GTI U-Gas, HT Winkler, GE Energy, Shell, Prenflo,
Examples BGL (slagging) KRW ConocoPhillips, Noell
"moving" beds are bed temperature below ash not preferred for high-ash
mechanically stirred, fixed fusion point to prevent fuels due to energy penalty
beds are not agglomeration of ash-melting
Comments
gas and solid flows are
preferred for high-ash unsuitable for fuels that are
always countercurrent in
feedstocks and waste fuels hard to atomize or pulverize
moving bed gasifiers
Note: The "transport" gasifier flow regime is between fluidized and entrained and can be air- or oxygen-blown.
41 Conclusions

 Gasification is the cleanest, most flexible and reliable way of using

fossil-fuels. It can convert low-value residuals into high value products,
such as chemicals and fertilizers, substitute natural gas, transportation
fuels, electric power, steam, and hydrogen.
 Gasification provides the least-cost alternative for capturing CO2 when
generating power, permitting the United States to use its abundant coal
reserves to generate needed electricity in a carbon-constrained world.
 Gasification offers opportunities to use domestic resources to displace
high-cost imported petroleum and natural gas from politically unstable
regions of the world. And, finally,

Gasification is redefining clean energy.

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 What are the environmental benefits of gasification?

Case Study
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