Paper No.

FBC99-0014

Gasification of Two Biomass Fuels in Bubbling Fluidized

Bed

Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on

Fluidized Bed Combustion

May 16 - 19, 1999

Savannah, Georgia

Copyright ©1999 by ASME

 Gasification of two Biomass Fuels in Bubbling Fluidized Bed

F. Miccio*
Istituto Ricerche sulla Combustione – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche IRC-CNR
via Metastasio 17, 80125 Napoli, Italy - Tel +39-81-5935379 - Fax +39-81-5931567
O. Moersch, H. Spliethoff, K.R.G. Hein
Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Dampfkesselwesen IVD-Universität Stuttgart
Pfaffenwaldring 23 - 70550 Stuttgart, Germany - Tel. +49-711+6853565 - Fax. +49-711+6853491

ABSTRACT leading to a finer elutriable particulate, since the

residual fuel particle after the devolatilization
The gasification of two biomass fuels,
conserves a good mechanical resistance.
beech wood and a dry granular sewage sludge
from the Swiss Combi process, has been ex-
perimentally studied. The gasification was car- INTRODUCTION
ried out in a laboratory scale ABFB facility, op- The properties of the fuel particle play an
erated at steady state. The fuels have both a high important part during the conversion of fossil
content of volatile matters but differ principally and renewable fuels in bubbling fluidized beds.
for their ash content, which is approximately 1% Segregation phenomena can be ascribed to high-
and 56% in beech and sewage sludge, respec- volatile fuels because of the propensity of parti-
tively. The attention was focused on the pres- cles in course of devolatilization to move up to
ence of particulate and tar in the producer gas the bed surface [Fiorentino, 1997] with a veloc-
which affect the process efficiency and give ity depending principally, among various pa-
negative drawbacks in the utilization in motors rameters, on particle density. The conversion of
or turbines for power generation. The influence the residual char particle is strongly affected by
of operating variables (i.e. process temperature topological and mechanical properties, the diffu-
and equivalence ratio) on the gasification per- sion of reactants and products as well as the
formances was explored. Results show that the patterns of the associated comminution being
composition of the producer gas is quite inde- strictly related to such properties [Bhatia and
pendent of whatever fuel is gasified. As far as Perlmutter, 1981, Chirone et al., 1991]. High-
sewage sludge is concerned, process perform- ash fuels can be subjected to catalytic effects
ances are poorer and steady state operation is [Smoot and Smith, 1985]; consequently, the
difficult, because of the high elutriation rate of burnout time of particles drastically changes.
fines, the continuous increasing of the bed height The metal inclusions in ashes undergo vaporiza-
and the interaction between ash and bed materi- tion and successive condensation depending on
als. The tar yield was always high for both fuels. their volatility; the presence of certain species in
Unexpectedly, the gasification of a blend of two ashes could favor the sorption of such metals on
fuels gave a minimum tar yield, probably as- the particle surface instead of as aerosols [Cenni
cribed to a catalytic effect. A difference was et al., 1998]. Ashes could accumulate in the bed,
found comparing the comminution behavior of sinterize or interact with inert materials [An-
beech wood and dry sewage sludge. The former thony, 1995], leading to the generation of ag-
undergoes fragmentation with the generation of gregates or mineral deposits on the bed particle
relatively large, elutriable fragments; the latter surface and to the modification of the bed fluid-
is principally subjected to mechanical abrasion, dynamic.
_____________________________________________
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed
 The gasification represents a more effi-
cient and attractive process for power genera-
tion from biomass with respect to the combus-
tion. In both environments, the particle devola-
tilization occurs under quasi similar conditions,
because a reducing atmosphere due to pyrolysis
vapors involves the particle. Consequently, the
knowledge about phenomena occurring during
devolatilization (e.g. the fuel segregation during
this stage or the primary fragmentation) can be
extended from combustion to gasification. On
the contrary, since the residence time of the char
particle is much higher for gasification than for
combustion, it can be expected that particle
properties during the char conversion stage act
differently, depending on whether combustion or
gasification is carried out (e.g. comminution
phenomena could be emphasized under gasifica-
tion).
The present work deals with the compari-
son of the gasification behavior in a bubbling
fluidized bed of two biomass reference fuels,
which have strong differences as far as ash con-
tent, ash composition and topological properties
of the fuel particle are concerned. The goal of
the paper is to ascertain that the composition of
the producer gas, at the same operating condi-
tions, does not change significantly with the fuel
flare
gas analysis
tar sampling
freeboard
135 mm ID
cyclone
freeboard probe
(trace heated) ceramic candle filter
(trace heated)
2.8 m
air
5 heating zones
(3,8 kW each) screw feeder
scale
fluidization column
108 mm ID
air
bed material withdrawal electrical preheater (3,6 kW)
gas distribution plate
Figure 1 - Experimental facility
choice, when using biomass fuels having a simi-
lar composition on dry ash-free basis. This
means that the fate of volatiles, which represents
the major part of the combustible matters, and
the occurrence of homogeneous reactions are
quite independent of the properties of char par-
ticles. It can also be expected that differences
are found as far as the condensed phase behavior
(i.e. ash evolution, comminution phenomena,
mechanism of chemical reaction and diffusion in
the char) is concerned. The comparison was
pursued by focusing the attention on the quality
of the producer gas, the ash behavior, the tar
yield and the carbon elutriation, during gasifica-
tion of single biomass fuels and their blend.
EXPERIMENTAL
The experimental facility used to carry out
gasification tests is sketched in Fig. 1. Steady
state operation is made possible by means of
external heating by electrical furnaces. The re-
action chamber consists of a bubbling fluidized
bed with an internal diameter of 108 mm and a
125 mm ID freeboard section. The reactor is
equipped with accessories and instrumentation
to perform measurements of temperature, pres-
sure, gas, tar and particulate concentrations
during steady-state experiments of gasification.
A more detailed description of the facility, the
experimental technique and the procedure used
for the laboratory analyses can be found else-
where [Miccio et al., 1998]. The tar concentra-
tion was measured by means of a quasi on-line
analyzer, designed and developed at the IVD,
University of Stuttgart [Moersch et al., 1998],
which allows measurements every two minutes.
Two fuels were used during gasification
tests: a beech wood (BW) and a dry granular
sewage sludge (DSS). Table I shows physical
and chemical properties of such fuels. The beech
wood originated from local forests; after a
predrying stage, it was chopped to the desired
size by means of a cutting mill. Beech wood is a
typical ligneous biomass, with high-volatile and
low-ash content and a residual moisture ranging
between 16 and 22%. The dry sewage sludge
was obtained from the Swiss Combi process by
mechanical and thermal treatment of a raw sew-
 Table I - Physical and chemical properties of biomass fuels
Fuel: Beech wood Dry sewage sludge
Density, kg m3 510 1830
Low heating value, MJ kg-1 18.38 7.85
Particle size range, mm 0-5 0-5
Particle size distribution
Average diameter, mm Cumulat. distr., % Cumulat. Distr., %
0.06 1.10 0
0.16 2.33 0
0.35 5.53 0
0.50 9.32 0
0.90 17.08 0
1.50 48.08 4.75
3.00 96.24 89.97
5.00 100.00 100.00
Proximate analysis
Moisture, % 16.0 - 22.0 4.68
Volatiles (dry basis), % 84.90 41.61
Ash (dry basis), % 1.03 56.11
Fixed carbon (dry basis), % 14.07 2.28
Ultimate analysis (dry basis), %
Carbon 50.40 20.42
Nitrogen 0.26 2.35
Hydrogen 7.21 3.18
Sulfur 0.00 0.61
Ash 1.03 56.11
Oxygen (by diff.) 41.10 17.33
Ash analysis (ash basis), %
Sodium 0.561
Potassium 1.121
Calcium 10.657
Magnesium 0.860
Aluminium 4.052
Silicium 19.071
Iron 5.235

age sludge. The final products are rather spheri-
cal granules (Fig. 2A), gray in color and uniform
in size. The dry sewage sludge is dust-free, not
smelling and storable for a long period. Differ-
ently from beech wood, it presents a high ash
content (56.11 %) and, consequently, the calo-
rific value evaluated on mass basis is low
(7.85 MJ/kg). The granules of dry sewage
sludge have a fairly good mechanical resistance;
the particle breaks if subjected to a compression
stress - hand operated by means of a pencil -
approximately equal to 10 N and fragments can
be rather easily pulverized.
For dry sewage sludge, Fig. 2 reports
SEM pictures of a raw granule (A), a char parti-
cle (B) and an ash particle after complete burn-
off (C), the latter two being produced by fast
heating up to 800 °C in a muffle furnace. It ap-
pears that there is not a significant change of
shape and volume of the particle upon its con-
version. Furthermore, the char particle (Fig. 2B)
shows an increased internal porosity with re-
spect to the raw granule (Fig. 2A); the porosity
disappears in the exhausted particle (Fig 2C)
because of ash fusion and re-arrangement during
char conversion.
The granulometric distributions of both
fuels are reported in Table I. The top particle
size was 5 mm in both cases; fines (i.e. lower
than 1.0 mm) were retrieved only for beech
wood. A blend was prepared by mixing equal
masses of both fuels. The feeding of such a

A was 11 cm/s and the expanded bed height
B given bed diameter and sand size.
C sewage sludge was gasified. An appreciable in-
Figure 2: SEM pictures of a raw granule (A),
a char particle (B) and an ash particle after
complete burn-off (C) for dry sewage sludge
blend in the reactor was proved to be sufficiently
steady and reliable.
The bed material was quartz sand with a
narrow size range (0.40 - 0.60 mm) belonging to
the B group of Geldart classification [Kunii and
Levenspiel, 1991]. The minimum fluidization
velocity Umf in air at the temperature of 800 °C
ranged between 80 and 90 cm.
The main operating variables of experi-
ments were the process temperature T and the
equivalence ratio λ, defined as the mass ratio
between the actual flow rate of the air and the
stoichiometric flow rate required for the fuel
combustion. The fluidization air was preheated
up to 500 °C. The reactor worked at fixed gas
velocities in the freeboard (i.e. 0.38 m/s). Con-
sequently, the undisturbed fluidization velocity
U was in the range 30 - 40 cm s-1 corresponding
to the beginning of the slugging regime for the
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Interaction between fuel ashes and bed
material
Upon gasification of beech wood there
was no evidence of accumulating ashes in the
bed or their interactions with quartz sand, up to
a temperature of 900 °C. On the contrary, nu-
merous ash skeletons were retrieved in dis-
charged materials, and sand particles turned
their color, from gray to red-brown, when dry
creasing of the bed height was also noted during
DSS gasification. The presence of ash skeletons
in discharged materials confirms that fuel parti-
cles do not undergo fragmentation phenomena
during stages of devolatilization and char con-
version, as already observed for the particles
converted in the muffle furnace (Fig. 2). Since
DSS granules have a residual mechanical resis-
tance upon their conversion and the fluidization
velocity is kept at relatively low values, the me-
chanical abrasion operated by bed materials on
the particle surface, which is consumed by a
shrinking particle mechanism, is not able to give
a generation rate of elutriable fines comparable
to the mass rate of fuel ashes. Consequently,
ashes accumulate in the bed leading to the dilu-
tion of the original quartz sand with particles
distributed over a wide range (from 150 to
2000 µm).
 Table II - Results of AAS and SEM analyses for sand materials

Element Atomic Adsorption Spectrometry Surfacial Analysis

Fresh sand Fatigued sand ∆ Fresh sand Fatigued sand ∆

g/kg g/kg % g/kg g/kg %

Si 280.000 311.000 11 944.000 406.300 -57

Ca 1.500 15.000 900
Fe 2.215 9.223 316 3.400 77.200 2171
Al 8.400 12.100 44 31.000 107.300 246
K 12.900 9.000 -30 10.000 14.500 45
Mg 0.170 1.010 494 3.600 31.600 778
Na 0.830 1.310 58
Zn 0.007 0.200 2757
Cu 0.016 0.083 419

Laboratory analyses were performed on
samples taken from the bed in order to give a
confirmation of the deposition of elements from
ashes over particle surface. Table II reports the
results of off-line analyses carried out by means
of atomic adsorption spectroscopy (AAS) and
surface analysis via scanning electron micro-
scope (SEM). The comparison between fresh
and fatigued sand (i.e. after approximately 10
hours of operation with dry sewage sludge at
800 °C) shows that fatigued sand was particu-
larly enriched of some elements which are pres-
ent in sewage sludge ashes, as reported in Tab. I
(Ca, Fe and Mg). Their deposition occurred
along the particle surface, since the measured
value of the area covered by Si in fatigued sand
drastically falls down in SEM analysis. Of
course, the large deposition of iron oxides
(∆ = 317 % and 2171 % for AAS and SEM,
respectively) is responsible of the observed
change in sand color.
Aggregates with a size up to 40 mm were
also retrieved in the bed after experiments car-
ried out at a temperature of 900 °C; such aggre-
gates have a dark color and a porous structure
with a good mechanical resistance. Their forma-
tion must be ascribed to the fusion of ashes
and/or sintering of ash and bed materials, be-
cause of the higher temperature during such
tests. However, it is reasonable to suppose that
the aggregates were produced at the end of the
gasification experiment, when the fuel feeding is
switched off and the carbon in the bed is burned,
following the experimental procedure for the
determination of the bed carbon load [Miccio et
al., 1998]. In such a situation the bed tempera-
ture increases over the set-point (up to 980 °C),
the cooling of the bed in the actual reactor being
not possible, and the temperature of char parti-
cles increases with respect to bed temperature.
Producer gas
Table III reports the average results of
gasification tests operated using both fuels and
their blend (50% by weight). The concentration
of principal gaseous species on dry basis, the tar
concentration in the producer gas, the carbon
elutriation rates at the reactor exit (EC) and in
the freeboard (EC,fr) and the carbon load in the
bed are reported. The carbon elutriation rate is
normalized with respect to the total carbon
feeding rate.
The quality of the producer gas (i.e. con-
centration of combustible species) is improved in
all cases by decreasing the equivalence ratio and
increasing the process temperature. The com-
parison between the results of the two fuels
shows that the hydrogen concentration attained
with dry sewage sludge is higher than that with
beech wood, except in the case λ=0.35 and
T=800 °C. The result can be explained taking
into account that the ratio between volatiles and
fixed carbon is higher for DSS than for BW
(18.25 and 6.03, respectively). As a conse-
quence, the role of homogeneous reactions is
more important during dry sewage sludge gasifi-
 Table III - Experiments of biomass gasification

Operating conditions Results

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Equivalence Process CO2 CO H2 CH4 tar Carbon Carbon Carbon Carbon
ratio temperature elutriation elutriation conversion load
exit freeboard in freeboard
- °C % % % % mg/m3 % % % g
Beech wood
0.15 800 17.9 18.6 14.8 6.2 14000 5.5 15.0 9.5 81
0.25 800 18.8 14.5 12.8 4.0 8200 3.8 6.2 2.4 37
0.35 800 19.2 11.4 10.8 3.0 4500 2.9 2.9 0.0 17
0.25 900 16.4 17.7 15.3 3.8 4970 2.2 3.6 1.4 19
Dry sewage sludge
0.15 800 16.0 13.5 19.7 2.2 11400 6.4 8.1 1.7 176
0.25 800 16.7 11.5 14.7 2.5 6860 5.4 7.9 2.5 104
0.35 800 17.5 9.6 9.0 2.9 2620 4.7 8.2 3.5 57
0.25 900 11.0 20.0 21.0 2.7 3750 3.9 5.0 1.1 81
Beech wood - dry sewage sludge blend
0.25 800 17.3 13.5 14.7 3.8 5540 5.3 6.4 1.1 81
0.25 900 13.5 19.0 19.0 2.5 3050 3.0 4.0 1.0 44

cation, leading to increased formation of hydro-
gen by cracking and partial oxidation of gaseous
hydrocarbons [Littlewood, 1977]. During gasifi-
cation of the biomass blend, the gas composition
is always at an intermediate level with respect to
BW and DSS gasification operated at the same
conditions.
The tar concentration in the producer gas
is high for both fuels and drastically decreases
with the equivalence ratio (Fig. 3) and the tem-
perature (Fig. 4). It is worth to note that dry
sewage sludge gasification results in a lower tar
yield, in spite of the higher ratio between vola-
tiles and fixed carbon. Among various variables
influencing tar genesis, the different organic
structure of the fuel and the ash content could
be considered. The former influences the nature
of vapors from the fuel pyrolysis resulting in the
generation of more refractory species when
beech wood is pyrolyzed; the latter modifies the
particle temperature and the duration of the de-
volatilization stage, which are known to influ-
ence the tar yield [Moersch, 1998]. The tar con-
centration with the biomass blend is unexpect-
edly lower than the values of BW and DSS at
both the temperatures of 800 and 900 °C
(Fig. 4). The experimental finding could be at-
tributed to a catalytic effect [Bridgewater, 1995]
operated by DSS ash, where Ca is present in a
large amount and Mg in traces, leading to en-
hance the cracking of tar species in the regions
of the bed and freeboard. However, this effect is
not able to drastically reduce the tar concentra-
tion and principally operates on tar species from
beech wood pyrolysis, because the tar abatement
is less marked in the gasification of DSS alone.
Particle conversion
Figures 5 and 6 report the dependence on
the equivalence ratio of the carbon elutriation
rate and bed carbon load, respectively. Dry sew-
age sludge shows higher values of such vari-
ables, if compared to beech wood. The differ-
ence is more pronounced in the case of the bed
carbon load, which always increases at least by
100 %, when switching from BW to DSS gasifi-
cation. Furthermore, the results are consistent
with the experimental findings of Donsì et al.
[1978] for coal combustion, which show the
increasing of the carbon elutriation rate with the
bed carbon load. The different fragmentation
behavior of the two fuels could provide an inter-
pretation of the large difference in the bed car-
bon load. A ligneous biomass, similar to beech
wood, has been characterized by Chirone et al.
[1997], which demonstrated the occurrence of
primary and percolative fragmentation, during
 15000
12500
Tar concentration, mg m-3
10000
7500
5000
2500
0
0.1
Figure 3: Tar concentration versus the equivalence ratio (T=800 °C)
combustion, with the consequent generation of
smaller fragments. DSS granules do not undergo
fragmentation, conserving their original size and
shape during conversion. The larger the particle
size, the higher the resistance to mass diffusion,
the lower is the global kinetics of char gasifica-
tion. It is also known from literature [Smooth
and Smith, 1985] that the reactivity of carbona-
ceous particles appreciably decreases at a late
state of their conversion, because carbon is di-
luted in the ashes and the internal diffusion of
gaseous reactants is more difficult. Similarly, the
high ash content of DSS represents an obstacle
to the gas diffusion; as a consequence, the in-
trinsic kinetics of the particle conversion is
lower than for low-ash fuels. In conclusion, the
bed carbon load increases, a longer time being
required for the complete conversion of fuel
particles in the bed.
Figure 7 reports the size distribution
measured by means of a Malvern equipment of
powders collected at the cyclone (Fig. 7A) and
the ceramic filter (Fig. 7B). It clearly appears
that the size of elutriated fines is shifted toward
smaller diameters, passing from beech wood to
dry sewage sludge. Furthermore, during the
beech wood
dry sewage sludge
0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
Equivalence ratio
beech wood gasification particles with a size
larger than the upper detection limit of the appa-
ratus (i.e. 564 µm) are collected at the cyclone.
These particles must be very porous and light in
order to be elutriable. Again, results reported in
Fig. 7 confirm the main difference in the evolu-
tion of the fuel particle during its conversion, as
far as comminution phenomena are concerned.
The beech wood undergoes fragmentation (pri-
mary, secondary and percolative) because of the
absence of a coherent ash skeleton and the in-
creasing porosity with the particle conversion.
Elutriable particles of relatively large size are
produced in the bed via fragmentation and suc-
cessively separated by the cyclone. On the con-
trary, the fines generation during dry sewage
sludge gasification is principally caused by the
mechanical abrasion along the external surface
of the particle, leading to the formation of fines
with smaller sizes.
Results of particle sampling by means of
the freeboard probe are also reported in Ta-
ble III in terms of the percent carbon elutriation
rate EC,F (col. 9) and percent carbon conversion
in the freeboard (col. 10). The latter is the dif-
ference between columns 9 and 8. The residence
 9000
8000
Tar concentration, mg m -3
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
beech wood
Figure 4: Tar concentration as a function of the fuel type (λ=0.25)
time of gas in the freeboard is approximately
equal to 4 s for each test. Accordingly to meas-
urements at reactor exit, EC,F decreases with an
increasing of the equivalence ratio, during gasi-
fication of beech wood at 800 °C. The situation
is reversed in experiments with dry sewage
sludge gasified at the same temperature: EC,F
assumes a rather constant value (approximately
8%), whatever λ may be. The carbon conversion
in the freeboard strongly decreases for BW tests
(from 9.5 to 0 %) and smoothly increases for
DSS tests (from 1.7 to 3.4 %), with an increas-
ing of the equivalence ratio. The difference in
the comminution behavior could partially explain
the different trend of carbon conversion in the
freeboard for biomass fuels under investigation.
Since elutriated fines from beech wood have a
larger size dp (Fig. 7), the particle terminal ve-
locity Ut in the freeboard could not be negligible
with respect to the gas velocity Ug,F, leading to
increase the residence time of particles in the
freeboard. The terminal velocity (Eq. 1) has
been evaluated following the procedure pro-
posed by Kunii and Levenspiel (1991).
T=800°C
T=900°C
blend dry sewage sludge
Fuel
Ut =
( )
4d p ρ p − ρ g g
(1)
3ρ g C D
In the equation ρp and ρg are the densities
of the particle and gas, g is the gravity accelera-
tion and CD is a function or the particle Rey-
nolds number. In turn, the particle residence
time in the freeboard tp,F is calculated by Eq. 2,
being LF the length of the freeboard:
LF
t p, F = (2)
U g ,F − U t
Assuming for BW char an apparent den-
sity of 300 kg m-3, from a comparison with data
available in literature for a similar ligneous bio-
mass [Masi et al., 1997], and average particle
sizes of 800, 400 and 200 µm, the terminal ve-
locity at 800 °C is equal to 1.76, 0.88 and
0.15 m s-1, respectively. It clearly appears that
the terminal velocity is smaller than the gas ve-
locity in the freeboard (i.e. 0.38 m/s) only in the
last case. It is worth to note that the assumed
value of ρp is referred to an unconverted bio-
mass char and the irregular shape of char parti-
cles is not taken into consideration, leading to
the overestimation of the terminal velocity.
 8

beech wood
dry sewage sludge
Carbon elutriation rate, %

0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
Equivalence ratio
Figure 5: Carbon elutriation rate versus the equivalence ratio (T=800 °C)

Anyway, the finding that the terminal velocity is bon conversion in the freeboard during beech
comparable with the gas velocity, leads to an wood gasification with respect to dry sewage
appreciable increasing of the residence time in sludge, in particular under unfavorable condi-
the freeboard, via Eq. 2. Furthermore, it is rea- tions of gasification.
sonable to suppose that the highest generation Finally, as far as results of the particle
rate of large fragments is obtained at λ=0.15, conversion are concerned, the blend fuel shows
i.e. under unfavorable conditions of gasification. an intermediate behavior with respect to the
Differently from beech wood, particles elutriated single fuels (Tab. 3). The results confirms the
during DSS gasification are smaller than 150 µm absence of mutual effects or interactions be-
(Fig. 7), corresponding to low values of the ter- tween the particles of different fuels (e.g. cataly-
minal velocity (e.g. Ut = 0.08 m/s at dp=80 mm sis by ashes), which can expected only if the fuel
and rp=1000 kg m-3) and the residence time of mixing is more intense and at the particle scale.
the particles is practically equal to that of the
gas. A further effort to explain the difference of
freeboard carbon conversion could be done
looking at the carbon content of elutriated fines.
This latter is much lower for dry sewage sludge
(< 5%) than for beech wood (approximately
50%), because of the huge ash content in char
particles of DSS. Again, elutriated fines which
leave the bed are less reactive for dry sewage
sludge than for beech wood [Smooth and Smith,
1985]. The cooperation of the above mentioned
factors, longer residence time and higher char
reactivity, leads to an enhancement of the car-
 250

beech wood
dry sewage sludge
200
Bed carbon load, g

150

100

50

0
0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
Equivalence ratio
Figure 6: Bed carbon load versus the equivalence ratio (T=800 °C)

CONCLUSIONS from beech wood pyrolysis. The phenomenon

represents an interesting aspect for further stud-
The gasification of two biomass fuels,
ies.
beech wood and dry sewage sludge, was carried
Carbon conversion and elutriation oc-
out rather smoothly in a bubbling fluidized bed
curred simultaneously during the gasification.
reactor. The quality of the producer gas is quite
Again, particle properties influence the commi-
independent of the fuel, achieving concentra-
nution behavior: for beech wood the generation
tions of combustible species which allow the
of coarse elutriable particles was prevalently
utilization for power production. The feeding of
operated by fragmentation paths. On the con-
a blend of such fuels was also tested, giving a
trary, dry sewage sludge was principally sub-
producer gas with intermediate properties with
jected to mechanical attrition, the granule having
respect to that of single fuels.
a coherent ash skeleton. As a consequence, size
For dry sewage sludge strong interactions
and shape of elutriated particles change signifi-
with bed materials were noted: accumulation of
cantly.
ashes in the bed, deposition of mineral matters
Measurements of particulate concentration
on bed particles and sintering of ash and sand
and chemical analyses of the samples obtained in
with formation of relatively large aggregates.
the freeboard and at reactor exit showed that the
The tar yield was always high, whatever
carbon conversion in the freeboard is relevant,
fuel was gasified. Tar concentration for dry
under certain conditions, for beech wood. On
sewage sludge was lower than for beech wood,
the contrary, for dry sewage sludge, because of
confirming that tar genesis is sensitive to particle
the smaller residence time of elutriated particles
properties and to the chemical nature of the or-
and the lower char reactivity, the carbon conver-
ganic components. Unexpectedly, the gasifica-
sion in the freeboard is less sensitive to the
tion of the blend gave a minimum tar yield. The
equivalence ratio.
results could be explained by supposing a cata-
lytic effect of sewage sludge ashes on tar species
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author F. Miccio gratefully acknowl-
edges the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung,
Bonn (Germany) for the granting of a research
fellowship at the IVD, University of Stuttgart, in
which framework this research was carried out.
The authors are indebted to Ms. G. Lotsch, Ms.
S. Mayer and Ms. A. Wöll of IVD for chemical
analysis of samples. Ms. C. Zucchini of IRC-
CNR is also acknowledged for SEM
elaboration.
REFERENCES
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10

9 beech wood
A
dry sewage sludge
8
Size distribution, %

2 Cyclone

0
10 1 10 100 1000

9 B beech wood
dry sewage sludge
8
Size distribution, %

3
Filter
2

0
1 10 Particle size, µm 100 1000

Figure 7: Size distribution of collected fines at the cyclone (A) and the filter (B)
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