Computational modelling of gas-solid hydrodynamics and thermal conduction in gasification of biomass in fluidized-bed reactor

A computational fluid dynamic model is developed to describe the fluid-particle interaction inside a fluidised bed reactor. The proposed gasifier reactor is 5 kW self-sustaining fluidised bed with 500 mm height and 127 mm diameter.The selected feedstock is ground Napier grass with particle diameter of 500 μm. The biomass particle is initially patched into the reactor and the hydrodynamic of the gas-solid fluidisation is modelled. The Eulerian approach is used to model the distribution of the mixture. Heat transfer from the surface of the biomass particle through the interior section is modelled according to the literature. ANSYS FLUENT 16.1 has been used as the modelling framework for the simulations.