Fundamental problems of hydrogen and renewable energy and fuel all technologies

Gasifier-transformer for producing gas from solid organic waste and coal in moving bed and circulating fluidized bed for fuel cell cogeneration power plants

Modification of the installation with moving bed

Modification of the installation with fluidized bed

Circuit of the installation with moving bed.

Solid organic wastes (SOW) undergo preliminary drying and carbonization due to the use of heat from the gasifier walls, which are heated due to partial oxidation of solid fuel in the middle part of the gasifier and the use of plasma torches. Gasifier is lined and hot. Air, steam-air mixture (from the air plasma torch) or high-temperature steam (from the steam plasma torch) are fed into the middle part of the installation into the zone of partial oxidation of the resulting carbonization products: gases and char. When using agro-industrial wastes (wood, pellets, sunflower husks, paper, etc.) or their mixtures with plastic (PET, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene), plasma torches are used only to start the installation. Plasma torches are continuously used in case of the conversion of harmful solid waste (sewage sludge from an aeration station, food and low-radioactive wastes). Char gasification and ash removal are carried out at the bottom part of the installation. Fine ash is removed in the cyclone. Hot dust-free synthesis gas is fed into the reactor for catalytic purification from harmful high-molecular compounds. A fine filter is used for the final cleaning of gas from dust. The resulting high-temperature gas at the temperature of 650-850 °C is fed into the solid oxide fuel cell electrochemical generator (SOFC-ECG) to generate electric energy. Combustion products from the SOFC-ECG are fed into the waste heat recovery boiler for the production of hot water for heating. The electric capacity of SOFC-ECG is 5 kW. The thermal capacity of the waste heat recovery boiler for heating is 6.4 kW.

Circuit of the installation with fluidized bed.

Dry granulated organic waste or coal with the addition of dolomite and air are fed into the bottom part of the gasifier. The circulation of solid particles is ensured by using the return path with the CFB cyclone and a loop seal. Bottom ash is removed from the bottom part of the gasifier, and fly ash – by a fly ash cyclone. The temperature in the fluidized bed is 650 °C, and the gas velocity in the gasifier is 3 m/s. The dust-free gas is fed into the reactor for catalytic purification from harmful high-molecular compounds. The gas from the catalytic reactor is fed into SOFC-ECG to generate electric energy. Combustion products from the SOFC-ECG are fed into the waste heat recovery boiler for the production of hot water for heating. The electric capacity of SOFC-ECG is 17 kW. The thermal capacity of the waste heat recovery boiler for heating is 14.4 kW.

Area of applications

Production of hydrogen-rich synthesis gas from solid organic waste and coal to produce: electricity (in electric generators with internal-combustion engine and high-temperature fuel cells), hydrogen (using processes of hydrogen sorption and desorption or membrane separation), wood char, activated char coal, and liquid motor fuel.

Brief description

Unique features of the installation are modularity, compactness, and ability to use installation units for developing and testing different technologies for the gasification of various solid organic wastes in the moving and fluidized beds to produce hydrogen-rich gas and electricity in fuel cells. Gasifier of CETI NASU is a new gasifier-transformer (GTR). Plasma torches (PT) for gasification perform an auxiliary role in order to transform SOW with a high content of moisture, ash, chlorine, and other hazardous substances. Main differences of the GTR of CETI NASU from other gasifiers are follows: the GTR is intended for gasification not only of wood, but also SOW (including polymers and hazardous ones) and coal; the GTR is designed as sections with the possibility of changing both the entire design of the gasifier, and each section of drying, pyrolysis, partial oxidation, and gasification zones; the GTR and plant cyclone are lined and hot; the energy of waste partial oxidation is used only for processes of drying/pyrolysis and gasification without the use of heat of the GTR walls to heat the air or recycled gases; GTR walls are energy storage devices of relatively small diameter and are used to transfer heat from the zone of partial oxidation to the zones of drying/ pyrolysis and gasification; in the pyrolysis zone over the partial oxidation zone, if necessary, a PT (steam plasma torch Multiplaz 3500 or air plasma torch Tesla Cut 40 with a device, specially developed in CETI NASU, - a cooled anode) can be installed; combustible gas or liquid fuel is not required to start the plant, the plant is started using a plasma torch; there is developed the own design of the section of the partial oxidation zone with the possibility of its altitude movement in the section and air-blast nozzle movement in cross direction; the GTR can be used for SOW gasification not only in various modifications of moving bed, but also for gasification in fluidized bed.

Expected results

In 2019-2024, it is planned to create cogeneration power plants with electric capacity of 5 to 30 kW using GTR to produce gas from solid organic waste and coal in moving and fluidized beds.

Advantages

Modularity, compactness, and ability to use installation units for developing and testing different technologies of gasification. The installation can be used in small commercial scale. In case of the generation of electric and thermal energy (cogeneration) and wood coal (polygeneration) at the cost of wood waste of 667 UAH/t, coefficient of electric capacity use of 80 %, coefficient of thermal energy use of 50 %, cost of produced electric energy of 2 UAH/kW•h, cost of heat for heating of 1354.78 UAH/Gcal, and cost of wood coal of 10 000 UAH/t, the payback period of the fuel cell cogeneration power plant with the gasifier of CETI of NAS of Ukraine is 5 years.

Competitors

TDA Research Inc.,
Off Grid Pro Inc.,
Viessmann Holzfeuerungsanlagen GmbH,
AVL List GmbH,
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,
Fraunhofer Institut fur Keramische Technologien und Systeme,
Utrecht University.

Project development

In 2016 at the installation, hydrogen-rich synthesis gas was obtained as the result of steam-air gasification of wood coal, waste wood, and sewage sludge of Kyiv aeration station. Hydrogen-rich synthesis gas, which after cleaning can be used to produce motor fuels and electricity in high-temperature fuel cells without using shift reactor, was obtained from sewage sludge of Kyiv aeration station at the installation with moving bed. In 2017, there were determined experimentally the fundamental characteristics of gasification processes in moving bed for: paper waste, sunflower husk, wood waste pellets, mixture of synthesized (PET) and natural (wood) polymer wastes, as well as mixture of steam coal and wood char. In the zone of partial oxidation of the gasifier, a new conversion chamber was used to increase the chemical efficiency of gasification by 1.5 times and reduce the content of high-molecular compounds in the resulting gas to less than 3 g/Nm3. The decrease in the content of high-molecular compounds in the obtained gas was also achieved in the catalyst bed of hot char. The reactor of the CETI of NASU with the Ni-catalyst of L.V. Pysarzhevsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of NASU was used at the gasifier outlet for conversion of the macromolecular compounds residue. A new process of air and steam-air gasification with the use of the Tesla Cut 40 plasma torch has been developed. In 2018, there were developed the basic circuits of new cogeneration plants with SOW gasification in downdraft moving bed, bubbling fluidized bed, and CFB: with an electric generators on the base of an internal combustion engine and SOFC-ECG. The use of the technology of plasma air gasification in downdraft moving bed and CFB technology instead of the technology of air gasification in moving bed will enable to increase the electric capacity of SOFC-ECG from 5 kW to 30 kW and up to 17 kW, respectively.

Intellectual property

A method for hydrogen production. Utility patent # 60806 of 2011.06.25, Ukraine / Ye.Yu. Kalishyn, A.I. Trypolsky, L.Yu. Dolgikh, I.V. Deynega, P.E. Stryzhak, O.M. Dudnyk, I.S. Sokolovska. - 2011. - 10 p.

The catalyst of carbon monoxide conversion. Utility patent # 60805 of 2011.06.25, Ukraine / I.B. Bychko, Ye.Yu. Kalishyn, A.I. Trypolsky, L.Yu. Dolgikh, I.V. Deynega, P.E. Stryzhak, O.M. Dudnyk, I.S. Sokolovska. - 2011. - 10 p.

Fuel briquett for hydrogen production. Utility patent # №106501 of 2016.04.25 Ukraine / Ye.Yu. Kalishyn, A.I. Trypolsky, O.M. Dudnyk, I.B. Bychko, I.S. Sokolovska, P.E. Stryzhak. – 2016. - 7 p.

Contact information

Executing : Coal Energy Technology Institute, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Project 5 «The development of the processes conversion of solid organic waste into hydrogen-rich synthesis gas for renewable hydrogen energy and fuel cell power plants».

Project leader:

Leading Researcher of CETI NASU, Ph.D.

Oleksii Dudnyk