CFD modelling of the fast pyrolysis of biomass in fluidised bed reactors, Part A: Eulerian computation of momentum transport in bubbling fluidised beds

K. Papadikis, S. Gu, Anthony V. Bridgwater

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The fluid–particle interaction inside a 150 g/h fluidised bed reactor is modelled. The biomass particle is injected into the fluidised bed and the momentum transport from the fluidising gas and fluidised sand is modelled. The Eulerian approach is used to model the bubbling behaviour of the sand, which is treated as a continuum. The particle motion inside the reactor is computed using drag laws, dependent on the local volume fraction of each phase, according to the literature. FLUENT 6.2 has been used as the modelling framework of the simulations with a completely revised drag model, in the form of user defined function (UDF), to calculate the forces exerted on the particle as well as its velocity components. 2-D and 3-D simulations are tested and compared. The study is the first part of a complete pyrolysis model in fluidised bed reactors.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4218-4227
Number of pages10
JournalChemical Engineering Science
Volume63
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2008

Keywords

  • fast pyrolysis
  • biomass thermal conversion
  • fluidised bed
  • biomass particle
  • CFD
  • heat transfer
  • multiphase flow
  • bioenergy
  • chemical engineering

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