C + O2 CO2

(1)

C + 0.5O2 CO

(2)

2CO + O2 2CO2

(3)

2H2 + O2 2H2O

(4)

CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O

(5)

CO + H2O CO2 + H2

(6)

C + H2O CO + H2

(7)

The Biomass model that has been developed, consists of three stages/ Pyrolysis - Where part of the
biomass is devolatilized into constituent products, combustion - where the products of pyrolysis along
with the unpyrolysed biomass undergoes varying degrees of partial and complete oxidation and finally
the reduction stage where the reducing reactions are modelled. The model utilizes the following
ASPEN blocks : RYIELD, RSTOIC and REQUIL along with stream splitters and coolers to achieve
the necessary accuracy for predicting the output of a downdraft biomass gasifier. A detailed
description of these blocks may be found in the table below

Table 1: ASPEN Reactor Blocks and Description.

Reactor
RYIELD

Functional Description
Used to represent reaction equipment when
reaction kinetics are unknown , and the
reactions result in a known product

RSTOIC

distribution
Is used to represent reaction equipment when
reaction kinetics are unknown or are
unimportant. Requires knowledge of the net
reaction stoichiometries and the extent of

REQUIL

reaction or conversion of a key component

Models chemical equilibria where reaction
stoichiometries are known. Approach
temperatures to Equilibrium can be specified.

The biomass fuel is defined as a non conventional solid in ASPEN, with the appropriate
proximate and ultimate analyses as inputs. Non Conventional solids are utilized in ASPEN

whenever the substance in question has a complex formula as in the case of biomass. This
allows the user to analyse the behaviour of the substance without knowing its precise formula
or structure.
The process of pyrolysis in gasification essentially involves the decomposition of the
complex biomass molecules into simpler hydrocarbons and other volatile products. However,
the temperature of the pyrolysis zone is an important parameter in this process. Temperatures
in the pyrolysis zone typically range from 600 K to 800 K and they determine the reaction
rates compositions of the devolatilized products and the amount of biomass undergoing
pyrolysis. In a downdraft biomass gasifier, as the fuel mass passes through the pyrolysing
zone, at lower temperatures a smaller proportion undergoes pyrolysis and a larger amount is
devolatilized at higher temperatures. The remainder of the unpyrolysed biomass passes onto
the combustion zone where it undergoes partial and complete oxidation along with the
pyrolysed products. In order to incorporate this phenomenon in the model a splitter is
introduced into the incoming Biomass stream. The two streams emerging from the splitter are
sent to two RYIELD reactors.
The RYIELD reactor model is used to represent reaction equipment when reaction kinetics
are unknown , and the reactions result in a product distribution with a known yield. RYIELD
calculates the product stream flow rates based on user-specified reaction stoichiometries and
yield distributions This makes it ideally suited for use in modelling the pyrolysis section of
the gasifier where the kinetics are difficult to represent but the product distribution is known.
In the present case the pyrolytic decomposition of biomass is assumed to take place via the
following equation.
CHHBOOB ncharC + ncoCO + nH2H2 + nH2OH2O + nCH4CH4 + nTARCH0.2O0.2

(8)

CHHBOOB is the chemical formula of the dry ash free biomass and n is the number of moles of
a given product where HB is the Hydrogen Balance and OB is the Oxygen Balance.
The elemental balances are given as below
1 = nchar + nCO + nCO2 + nCH4 + ntar

(9)

HB = 2nH2 + 2nH2O + 4CH4 + 0.2ntar

(10)

OB = nCO + 2nCO2 + nH2O + 0.2ntar

(11)

The product ratio equations reported by Sharma et al (2006) are also taken into account They
are
(nCO/nCO2) = (MWCO2/MWCO) . e1.845+(7730.3/T)-(5019898/T2)

(12)

(nCO2/nH2O) = (MWH2O/MWCO2)

(13)

(nCH4/nCO2) = (MWCO2/MWCH4). 5 x 10 -16 . T5.06

(14)

MW indicates the molar weight of the species concerned and T the temperature in the
pyrolysis zone.
Equations 8 to 14 represent seven equations while the molar contents of the unknown species
represent corresponding unknowns (nchar is obtained from the fixed carbon content of the
proximate analysis). The equations are then solved to obtain the molar fractions of the
biomass products in the pyrolysis zone. This is then incorporated into the model with the help
of a calculator block executing FORTRAN statements attached to the RYIELD block which
simulates the pyrolysed sub stream.
The second sub stream is routed to another RYIELD reactor which simply decomposes the
biomass according to its ultimate analysis and passes the products on to the combustion stage.
The combustion phase is modelled by a RSTOIC Block. The RSTOIC reactor model is used
to represent reaction equipment when reaction kinetics are unknown or are unimportant. For
example, when reactions are very fast and proceed until the limiting reagent is exhausted.
RSTOIC requires knowledge of the net reaction stoichiometries and the extent of reaction or
conversion of a key component In this case it incorporates the combustion reactions
(Reactions 1 to 5) at temperatures up to 1200 K. The airflow in the gasifier is also introduced
in this section and is adjusted to obtain various equivalence ratios. The extents of reaction of
the equations are adjusted in order to obtain partial combustion of the products while a
negative heat duty is imposed on the block to model the transfer of heat from the combustion
zone to the reduction zone. The exit gases then move to the reduction zone.
The reduction stage incorporates a single REQUIL block. The REQUIL model calculates
product stream flow rates using equilibrium constants determined from Gibbs free energy.
The equilibrium constants are based on user-specified reaction stoichiometries and yield

distributions. In this case the block calculates the equilibrium products for the steam
reforming reaction (7) and goes on to simulate the overall equilibrium for the entire reduction
process.
The product from the REQUIL block passes through a cooler which removes water and lower
the temperature and pressure of the product gas, which leads to easier comparison of
extensive properties.

0.65
Model Predictions

0.60

CO2
CO

Composition (molar fraction)

0.55

H2
CH4

0.50

N2

0.45

Expt Data
CO

0.40

CO
H2

0.35

CH4

0.30

N2

0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
0.26

0.27

0.28

0.29

0.30

Equivalence Ratio

0.31

0.32

0.33

6.4

CV (Model Data)
CV (Experimental Data)

Calorifc Value (MJ /Nm )

6.0
5.6
5.2
4.8
4.4
4.0
3.6
3.2
0.26

0.28

0.30

0.32

Equivalence Ratio

Fig. represents the calorific values of the exit gas vs equivalence ratio(ER), validated against
the data of Dogru et.al.(2002). The predicted data closely follows the experimental trend
showing a gradual increase for ERs till 0.28, with a maximum at 0.29 and a gradual decrease
thereafter. This maxima, indicates the optimal operating condition for the modelled gasifier. It
is also observed that the model values of CV, while predicting the trend accurately, are
consistently, below the experimental outcomes. This due to the fact that while the validation
data included contributions of ethane and acetylene which were observed in the exit gas, to
the CV values, the model does not incorporate these hydrocarbons into its predictions. The
heavier hydrocarbons are assumed to be oxidised in the combustion zone completely and thus
do not appear in the models exit gas.

Total Flow Rate (Nm /hr)

15

Total Flow Rate (Simulation Data)

Total Flow Rate (Experimental Data)

10

0
0.26

0.28

0.30

0.32

Equivalence Ratio

Fig. validates the model with a plot of the Total Flow Rate against the Equivalence Ratio.
The simulated data consistently tracks the predicted value with a maximum deviation of only
10%. The increase in Total flow Rate easily follows from the fact that an increase in the
Equivalence Ratio corresponds to an increase in the Air to Biomass flow rate which in turn
provides greater air/fuel ratio in comparison to the stoichiometric value.

Steam injection is routinely carried out in gasifiers in order to enhance the water gas shift
reaction and consequently increase the percentage of Hydrogen in the final gas composition
while simultaneously decreasing the CO fraction. This is desirable as H2 has cleaner
combustion characteristics. The introduced steam is saturated at 110 C and 1 atm. pressure,
is introduced in the REQUIL reactor which models the water gas shift reaction. The steam to
biomass ratio (kg sat. steam/kg dry biomass) is chosen as the parameter to be investigated and
is varied from 0.02 to 0.08 for an Equivalence ratio of 0.31226. This corresponded to a dry
biomass feed rate of 1.73 Kg/hr and an air flow rate of 2.481512 Kg/hr.