CFD-DEM study of a V-shaped Down-tube pyrolysis Reactor: Flow and heat transfer between heat carrier and biomass

The flow and heat transfer characteristics of heat carrier and biomass particles in a V-shaped down-tube reactor were studied using computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method (CFD-DEM) modeling. The effects of different mass ratios of heat carrier to biomass particles and heat carrier diameters on the temperature distribution, heating rate, and residence time of biomass particles in a reactor were compared. The results showed that the temperature in the reactor increased with the increase of the mass ratio. The simulated results showed that the heating rate and final temperature of biomass powder were better at the mass ratio of 20:1 than other mass ratios (10:1, 15:1, 30:1 and 40:1). The residence time distribution of the biomass particles was found to be approximately normal, but increasing the heat carrier diameter had a significant influence on the residence time of the biomass particles.

Automated summary

The flow and heat transfer characteristics of heat carrier and biomass particles in a V-shaped down-tube reactor were studied using computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method (CFD-DEM) modeling. The effects of different mass ratios of heat carrier to biomass particles and heat carrier diameters on the temperature distribution, heating rate, and residence time of biomass particles in a reactor were compared. The results showed that the temperature in the reactor increased with the increase of the mass ratio. Increasing the heat carrier diameter had a significant influence on the residence time of the biomass particles.