Hydrodynamic analysis of a circulating fluidized bed coal water slurry gasifier

The hydrodynamic analysis was conducted in order to understand how the hydrodynamics of the circulating fluidized bed (CFB) influences the process of gasification. The fundamentals of this operation are still not fully understood. The solid entrainment rates in the CFB are underestimated if the empirical correlation developed in the previous literature are used. Thus, a correlation between the dimensionless entrainment rate and the entrainment parameter was derived for determining the solid entrainment rate more accurately. Combustion and solid entrainment models were also developed. Finally, comparisons were made between the results obtained from the hydrodynamic analysis and the kinetic analysis. It was concluded that the process of gasification of coal water slurry fuels was less sensitive to the hydrodynamic effects than to the kinetics of char gasification for a given solid loading. However, the hydrodynamics in the main mechanism which determines the solid loading.