Pine wood is sometimes used as a type of standard energy feedstock for gasification system testing. When research scientists use the same (or a very similar) feedstock for testing, the results can be understood and interpreted most easily because the performance of a thermal gasification system is highly dependent of the feedstock type; therefore, it is useful to evaluate the system performance when using a standard feedstock. Pine wood is used as a standard energy feedstock by some gasification researcher teams in the USA.
Using autothermal gasification methods, we convert forest biomass into low-molecular-weight fuel gases. The fuel-gases are flared during operational testing of the gasification system as shown above using a refractory-lined flare, or the fuel-gases are used to power a 350-kW engine/generator modified for operation with medium-BTU gases.
Taylor Energy’s Biomass Gasification Test-Facility is located at the University of California at Riverside. The equipment systems shown above are used to develop specific process parameters at Process Development Scale for the thermo-catalytic conversion of organic material into low-molecular-weight fuel gases. We can process forest biomass and most types refuse derived biomass materials as energy feedstocks. In sum, advanced thermal processing methods are best applied to any of the relatively “dry” energy feedstock that contain, say, less than 30% moisture. On the other hand, mostly-wet energy feedstocks can be processed using anaerobic digestion methods. Whereas, mostly-dry feeds can be processed very efficiently using thermo-catalytic conversion methods.
This video shows a Jet Spouted Bed circulating golf balls. Most people have played with a golf ball, and may have a sense for the power required to juggle a dozen balls. A typical fluidized bed can circulate sand and other smaller-particulate bed materials. Whereas, a Conical Spouted Bed has the ability to circulate much larger materials. Golf balls are particularly difficult to fluidize because their aerodynamic shape is intended to minimize wind resistance. Therefore, golf balls are not moved around by gases very easily. On the other hand, a Jet Spouted Bed provides the explosive gas-pulses that are powerful enough to circulate two dozen golf balls simultaneously. Likewise, the Spouted Bed is ideal for thermal processing of heterogeneous waste materials.
Our current test-program includes 500-hours of operational testing. We typically perform 24-hour test runs to evaluate process conditions. In this case, we are processing a waste biomass feed, which is converted (using thermal reforming methods) into clean syngas gas. We are looking into the flare during operation, while research team members are monitoring the system parameters.
Through the years, we have recorded video of various thermal conversion methods during the actual operation of the process. Capturing these images is very tricky because of the high temperatures involved and because the intense particle collisions can damage the camera lens rather quickly. We were fortunate to capture these images through an open window provided for viewing the process. We are looking into a Conical Jet Spouted Bed type gasification reactor operating in the “dilute phase,” in which ceramic bed materials collide with biomass feed materials that are being converted (steam reformed) into synthesis gases, also known as syngas.