Numerical Study of Coal Composition Effects on the Performance of Gasification Through Computational Fluid Dynamic

Abstract

Abstract Pakistan is very rich in coal reserves specifically after exploration of Thar coal reserves. At the same time country is facing energy crises due to shortage or unavailability of sustainable fuel supply at a cheaper rate. One potential solution is coal gasification which gives clean synthetic gas usually called syngas for use as an alternative fuel source for electricity production at a cheaper rate as well as a source of recovering different chemicals used as basic raw materials in other industries. Numerical simulations have been performed in this work for the gasification process of indigenous coal on a 2D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model of downdraft entrained-flow gasifier using commercial CFD software FLUENT®6.3.26. Navier-stokes equations along with transport equations for species have been solved using eddy-dissipation combustion model. The compositions of indigenous coals (Thar, Lakhra, and Sonda) were used in simulations as gasification feedstock. Rich oxidant conditions 95 % O2 and 5 % N2 were set for gasification. The gasification performance was studied by comparing efficiencies of gasification and quality of syngas produced for three types of coal feedings. The temperature and pressure profiles inside the gasifier were also studied. From simulation results, the great influence of coal composition was observed in the performance of gasification. Lakhra coal produced syngas with a maximum heating value of 20.55 MJ/kg whereas sonda coal produced syngas with a minimum heating value of 17.96 MJ/kg.