J. Fermoso

Co-gasification of different rank coals with biomass and petroleum coke in a high-pressure reactor for H2-rich gas production

Four coals of different rank were gasified, using a steam/oxygen mixture as gasifying agent, at atmospheric and elevated pressure in a fixed bed reactor fitted with a solids feeding system in continuous mode. Independently of coal rank, an increase in gasification pressure led to a decrease in H(2) + CO production and carbon conversion. Gasification of the different rank coals revealed that the higher the carbon content and reactivity, the greater the hydrogen production. Co-gasification experiments of binary (coal-biomass) and ternary blends (coal-petcoke-biomass) were conducted at high pressure to study possible synergetic effects. Interactions between the blend components were found to modify the gas production. An improvement in hydrogen production and cold gas efficiency was achieved when the coal was gasified with biomass.

Different Approaches for the Development of Low-Cost CO2 Adsorbents

Different carbon materials were tested as precursors for the production of C O2 adsorbents. The chemical modification of the surface of the prepared adsorbents was studied by means of three different approaches: impregnation with amines, electrophilic aromatic substitution, and heat treatment in the presence of ammonia. The samples were chemically characterized and the porous texture was evaluated from the N2 adsorption isotherms at −196°C . The C O2 adsorption capacities of the adsorbents at 25 and 100°C were evaluated in a thermogravimetric analyzer. In general, the incorporation of basic nitrogen functionalities enhanced the C O2 capture capacities of the modified carbons, but this increase depended on the textural properties of the support and the surface modification methodology. C O2 adsorption capacities of up to 111 mg C O2 ∕g at room temperature were attained. All the tested samples were completely regenerated when subjected to heat treatment at 100°C under inert atmosphere.

Gasification of the char derived from distillation of granulated scrap tyres

This work reports the effect of pressure on the steam/oxygen gasification at 1000°C of the char derived from low temperature-pressure distillation of granulated scrap tyres (GST). The study was based on the analysis of gas production, carbon conversion, cold gas efficiency and the high heating value (HHV) of the product. For comparison, similar analyses were carried out for the gasification of coals with different rank. In spite of the relatively high ash (≈12 wt.%) and sulphur (≈3 wt.%) contents, the char produced in GST distillation can be regarded as a reasonable solid fuel with a calorific value of 34MJkg(-1). The combustion properties of the char (E(A)≈50 kJ mol(-1)), its temperature of self-heating (≈264°C), ignition temperature (≈459°C) and burn-out temperature (≈676°C) were found to be similar to those of a semi-anthracite. It is observed that the yield, H(2) and CO contents and HHV of the syngas produced from char gasification increase with pressure. At 0.1 MPa, 4.6 Nm(3)kg(char)(-1) of syngas was produced, containing 28%v/v of H(2) and CO and with a HHV around 3.7 MJ Nm(-3). At 1.5 MPa, the syngas yield achieved 4.9N m(3)kg(char)(-1) with 30%v/v of H(2)-CO and HHV of 4.1 MJ Nm(-3). Carbon conversion significantly increased from 87% at 0.1 MPa to 98% at 1.5 MPa. It is shown that the char derived from distillation of granulated scrap tyres can be further gasified to render a gas of considerable heating value, especially when gasification proceeds at high pressure.