Equivalent Reactor Network Model for Simulating the Air Gasification of Polyethylene in a Conical Spouted Bed Gasifier

Plastic waste gasification is one of the most promising techniques to use nondecomposable solid waste and to produce syngas. A CFD-based Equivalent Reactor Network (ERN) model was developed for simulation of polyethylene gasification in a designed pilot-scale conical spouted bed gasifier. The CFD-based ERN model was established through two steps: (i) hydrodynamics simulations with CFD software and (ii) the equivalent reactor network built in the Aspen Plus simulator with gasification reactions taken into account through external FORTRAN modules. The model predictions were in very good agreement with experimental data of a lab-scale conical spouted bed gasifier used for steam gasification of polyethylene. The developed CFD-based ERN model was then used to investigate the effect of gasification temperature and equivalence ratio on the gasification performance of polyethylene in such a pilot-scale conical spouted bed reactor. It was found that the proper values of temperature and ER for air gasification were 700 degrees C and 0.4, respectively. With this operation condition, a value of LHV of 6.2MJ/Nm(3), a value of CGE of 72.14%, and a value of CCE of 97.3% were recorded. The present work demonstrated the capabilities of the developed CFD-based ERN model in simulating polyethylene waste gasification process as well as the appropriateness of the designed pilot-scale conical spouted bed gasifier to carry out such a process.