Industrial-scale Fixed-bed Coal Gasification: Modeling, Simulation and Thermodynamic Analysis

We have developed a process model to simulate the behavior of an industrial-scale pressurized Lurgi fixed-bed coal gasifier using Aspen Plus and General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS). Reaction characteristics in the fixed-bed gasifier comprising four sequential reaction zones-drying, pyrolysis, combustion and gasification are respectively modeled. A non-linear programming (NLP) model is developed for the pyrolysis zone to estimate the products composition which includes char, coal gases and distillable liquids. A four-stage model with restricted equilibrium temperature is used to study the thermodynamic equilibrium characteristics and calculate the composition of syngas in the combustion and gasification zones. The thermodynamic analysis shows that the exergetic efficiency of the fixed-bed gasifier is mainly determined by the oxygen/coal ratio. The exergetic efficiency of the process will reach an optimum value of 78.3% when the oxygen/coal and steam/coal mass ratios are 0.14 and 0.80, respectively.