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Modeling of char wood gasification in a downdraft gasifier

Conference Paper · November 2009

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 1st Conference on Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials (CEAM)
VIRTUAL FORUM
Naples 2009
Section: G1: Combustion, pyrolysis, gasification (G1-004)
Modeling of char wood gasification in a downdraft gasifier

M. A. Masmoudi1,2, N. Grioui2, M. Sahraoui3, and K. Halouani2

Abstract – Gasification is a practical way to use the renewable biomass resources. It consists of
the conversion of carbonaceous materials into gas fuel useful in several applications. In this work,
biomass gasification is studied at the reactor scale. A detailed model is developed for the
gasification zone of an Imbert downdraft gasifier. It includes the heterogeneous reaction kinetics
as well as the diffusion and convection phenomena within the porous char bed written for 2-D
cylindrical coordinates by considering some simplifying assumptions. It was then used to simulate
fields inside the char bed and to study the effect of some operating parameters on the performance
of the gasifier.

Keywords: biomass energy, char gasification, downdraft gasifier, 2-D modeling

of the gasifier. Recently, Roy et al. [8] investigated the

I. Introduction
The importance of an efficient utilization of biomass
as a renewable energy in terms of global warming and
resource shortage is well known and documented.
Biomass gasification is a practical and attractive way to
convert organic feeds (including wood wastes,
agricultural and industrial byproducts, forest residues)
into a product gas consisting of hydrogen, carbon
monoxide, methane and other inert gases. This low
calorific value gas can be used in several fields such as
the production of the 2nd generation biofuels. These
fuels, contrarily to the traditional biofuels which are
produced from specific cultivations and plants, are
synthesized using the product gas generated by the
gasification of any organic material [1]. The potential
of gasification would be enhanced since the demand on
such biofuels will increase in the next decades [2].
In recent years, biomass gasification was studied
extensively by many authors [1,3-10]. Particular
interest was attributed to the downdraft gasification
due to its multiple advantages. Wang and Kinoshita [3]
developed a kinetic model for biomass gasification and
studied the effect of several parameters on the
conversion. Halouani and Golli [4] performed an
experimental study on a downdraft gasifier coupled
with a cooling and cleaning system and they developed
a numerical model based on mass and energy balances
and the equilibrium of the gasification reactions.
Similarly, Zainal et al. [5, 6] investigated the
gasification of wood chips in a downdraft gasifier
experimentally and by developing an equilibrium
model. Jayah et al. [7] presented an experimental and a
theoretical 1-D model for gasification in downdraft
gasifier. The developed model assumes that a single
char particle moves downward along the vertical axis
gasification of a blend of cow dung and woody
biomass in a downdraft gasifier. They developed a
numerical model for the reduction zone and used it to
evaluate the gasification behavior of the cow dung.
In the present paper, a 2D numerical model for the
gasification zone of a downdraft gasifier is presented.
This model is used to predict the gas composition at
the exit of the gasifier and to simulate the effects of
some operating conditions on the gasifier performance.
II. The downdraft gasifier
The downdraft gasifier is a simple and practical
facility for biomass conversion. It is known for the
production of gas with low tar content [9]. The gasifier
on which the present study is made, is the one designed
by the NERD Sri Lanka (shown in Fig. 1) and tested
experimentally by Jayah et al. [7]. In this reactor, the
air introduced from the side moves with the feed in the
same direction. After flowing through the hearth zone,
the resulting gases from the pyrolysis and oxidation
zones react with the remaining char supported on the
grate to yield the producer gas. This zone known as
gasification or reduction zone is the determining step
of the conversion and is therefore modeled in this
work.
III. Model implementation
III.1. Physical model
The physical model consists of a fixed bed of char
particles crossed by a reactive gas flow as shown in the
Fig 2. As the reactive gas coming from the upper zones
flows across the bed, the conversion of char to product
gas is achieved through the reduction reactions.

Copyright © 2009 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved

 M. A. Masmoudi, N. Grioui, M. Sahraoui, and K. Halouani

Consequently, the gas fractions of hydrogen and III.3. Chemical reactions

carbon monoxide in the product gas increase at the exit
The main gasification reactions are the Water-gas
of the gasifier.
and the Boudouard reactions. The Methanation and the
Steam reforming reactions are not as significant. The
III.2. Model assumptions following four reactions are considered here [3]:
Steam gasification reaction:
In the model development, some assumptions are
C + H 2 O ⇔ CO + H 2 (1)
adopted to simplify the problem:
- The gasifier is assumed to load in a steady state. Boudouard reaction:
This assumption was verified experimentally by C + CO 2 ⇔ 2CO (2)
Mermoud [9] in his work on the staged gasifier.
Methanation reaction:
- All the sub processes (carbonization, tar cracking
and combustion) are complete before the reduction C + 2H 2 ⇔ CH 4 (3)
zone and the gas flowing in the reduction zone consists Steam reforming reaction:
of six species: N2, CO, H2, CO2, H2O, and CH4. CH 4 + H 2 O ⇔ CO + 3H 2 (4)
- The oxygen and hydrogen content of the wood
The corresponding reaction rate Ri is given by the
char are neglected.
following expression [10]:
- Ideal gas law is applicable to the present gases
species. − ΔE i y
R i = C t × CRF × A i exp( ) × ( y product − reactant )
- The heat loss from the reduction zone is neglected RT Ki eq

since it is surrounded by the high temperature product (5)

gas flowing up towards its exhaust [8].
Where CRF represents the char reactivity factor and
the expression of which is taken from [10], Ct is the
sum of all species concentrations and Ki,eq is the
equilibrium constant of each reaction and is a function
of the temperature [10].

III.4. Governing equations

Considering the assumptions mentioned above, the
conservation equations are written in two-dimensional
cylindrical coordinates:
- Continuity equation (gas phase):
1 ∂ ( ερru) ∂ ( ερw) (6)
+ =S
∂r ∂z
c
r
Where Sc is the mass source term given by:
6
Sc = ∑ M j R j
Fig. 1: The experimental setup [7] 1

and Rj is the rate of production or consumption of the

specie j.
pyrolysis and combustion
products - Energy conservation:
∂T ∂T 1 ∂ ∂T
r ερuCp + ερwCp = (rε k ) +
∂r ∂z r ∂r ∂r
∂ ∂T (7)
(ε k ) + ∑ ΔH i R i
∂z ∂z
Where Ri are the rates of the considered reactions.

- Species conservation:
∂c j ∂c j 1 ∂ ∂c j
εu + εw = (ε rD j ) (8)
Z ∂r ∂z r ∂r ∂r
∂ ∂c j
+ (εD j ) + Rj
product gas

∂z ∂z
Fig. 2: The physical model

Copyright © 2009 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved 1st Conference on Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials
(CEAM)
 M. A. Masmoudi, N. Grioui, M. Sahraoui, and K. Halouani

- Momentum equations (radial and z-direction several iterations, the code converges and the gases
respectively): fractions along and at the exit of the gasifier are
∂u ∂u ∂P μ evaluated.
ερu + ερw =− −ε u+
∂r ∂z ∂r K The numerical results of the model are compared
∂ 1 ∂ru ∂ 2u (9) with the published experimental data of Jayah et al. [7]
εμ ( ) + εμ 2 for validation. Fig. 3 shows that the mole fractions of
∂r r ∂r ∂z
∂w ∂w ∂P μ the species in the dry producer gas predicted by the
ερu + ερw =− −ε w + model agree well with the experimental results of
∂r ∂z ∂z K
(10) Jayah et al. [7] with an absolute average deviation of
μ ∂ ∂w ∂2w
ε (r ) + εμ 2 about 7.32% (except the methane fraction which is
r ∂r ∂r ∂z very low and does not have a great influence on the
final result). The predictions of the gasification model
III.5. Boundary conditions are therefore considered to be satisfactory to
investigate the parameters influencing the process and
At the inlet of the gasification zone, temperature and
evaluate the performance of the gasifier for different
gases concentrations have to be assigned properly from
working conditions.
the upper zones since they affect the final results.
These values are computed here using a single reaction TABLE I
which lumps the drying, pyrolysis and oxidation stages GASES FRACTIONS AT THE EXIT OF THE PYRO-OXIDATION ZONE
in the pyro-oxidation zone [8]. This global reaction is
given by:
Gas N2 CO2 CO H2O H2 CH4
CH1.54O0.622 + w H 2 O + t O2 + 3.76 t N 2 → xChar +
x1CO + x 2 CO2 + x 3 H 2 O + x 4 H 2 + x 5CH4 + 3.76 t N 2
(11)
Fraction 0.656 0.152 0.089 0.281 0.1 2.10-4
Where w is the moisture content per mol of wood
and t is calculated using the air fuel ratio. These values
as well as the wood properties (proximate and ultimate
analysis of rubber wood) are taken from [8]. The same
hypothesis adopted in [8] are used here to calculate the
char and the gases fractions x, x1, x2, x3, x4, and x5. The
initial velocity is taken equal to 1m/s [11], and at the
exit of the gasification zone, the fully developed state
is used for all fields.

III.6. Solution method

The conservation equations constitute a coupled
nonlinear partial differential equations system. They
are solved using the finite volume method with a
staggered non uniform cylindrical grid. A FORTRAN
code is then built to compute the gas fractions and the
Fig. 3. Comparison between the predicted and experimental results
different fields. The conical shape of the gasification
zone was respected in the calculation and the code
solves only for the control volumes inside the cone. IV.2. Simulated temperature profile
The developed model is used to simulate the
IV. Validation and simulations temperature variation inside the reduction zone. Fig. 4
shows that the temperature decreases continuously
along the length of the reduction zone with a strong
IV.1. Model validation variation occurring in the first 100 mm, and a lower
variation for the remaining part. The observed steep
After running the sub-model of the pyro-oxidation
decrease in the initial region of the bed can be
zone at the conditions corresponding to those of Jayah
explained by the large extent of the endothermic
et al. [7], the calculated species fractions and
gasification reactions since the water gas and the
temperature (given in Table I) are used as inlet
Boudouard reactions are favored by the higher
boundary conditions for the gasification model. After
temperatures and the higher reactant concentrations

Copyright © 2009 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved 1st Conference on Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials
(CEAM)
 M. A. Masmoudi, N. Grioui, M. Sahraoui, and K. Halouani

present at the top of the char bed. IV.4. Effect of steam addition on the hydrogen fraction
Yoshikawa et al. [12] demonstrated that the
injection of high temperature air/steam mixture in the
product gas outgoing from an updraft gasifier
effectively decomposes tar and soot. We suggest here
the injection of super heated steam (150°C) at the entry
of the gasification zone. Fig. 6 shows the influence of
steam addition on the hydrogen yield. Steam was
added in the range of 25 to 100% of the total steam
fraction used in the model validation. It is shown that
the hydrogen fraction increases continuously from
about 18.9 to 20.56% as the steam fraction increases.
This is due to the enhancement of the water gas
reaction as steam is a reactant in this reaction.
Consequently, the hydrogen yield would increase.
Fig. 4. Simulated temperature profile inside the gasification zone However, the optimal steam fraction added should be
determined which value corresponds to the minimum
IV.3. Gases concentrations along the reduction zone difference between the injected and the residue fraction
in the product gas.
The model is used also to predict the gases
concentrations along the reduction zone. Fig. 5 shows
the evolution of each of the gas species along the char
bed. It is shown that the fractions of hydrogen and
carbon monoxide increase continuously, while the
fractions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen decrease as
the conversion of char proceeds. The trend of the
evolution is similar to the temperature field. Indeed, the
rate of production or consumption of species is related
to the heterogeneous reactions which influence the
temperature field by heat consumption. So the
conversion proceeds intensively at the beginning of the
char bed and consequently the fractions of hydrogen
and carbon monoxide increase rapidly. As the flow
proceeds down and reaches the bottom of the bed, the
conversion becomes lower and the gases fractions Fig. 6. Effect of steam injection on the hydrogen fraction
undergo a little variation.

IV.5. Effect of char bed length

The char bed length is an important parameter in the
downdraft gasifier because it affects the gas residence
time in the reactor. The char bed length was varied
from 25 to100% of its initial value (220 mm) to see its
effect on the calorific value of the product gas. Fig. 7
shows this variation as function of the bed length and it
is observed that the gas heating value increases slightly
when the char bed length increases. This low variation
shows that the added part of the char bed don’t react
intensively with the gas, and this fact is due to two
reasons: the first is the low temperature value in this
part of the bed (Fig. 4), and the second is the low
reactants concentrations compared with the initial
value at the top of the char bed.
Fig. 5. Gases fractions fields inside the gasification zone at r=0
Thus, increasing the char bed length would not be
beneficial to the char conversion.

Copyright © 2009 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved 1st Conference on Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials
(CEAM)
 M. A. Masmoudi, N. Grioui, M. Sahraoui, and K. Halouani

[8] P. C. Roy, et al., Assessment of cow dung as a supplementary

fuel in a downdraft biomass gasifier, Renewable Energy, 2009
in press, doi:10.1016/ j.renene.2009.03.022

[9] Mermoud Floriane, Gazéification de charbon de bois à la

vapeur d'eau : de la particule isolée au lit fixe continu, Ph.D.
Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France 2006.

[10] A. Kr. Sharma, Equilibrium and kinetic modeling of char

reduction reactions in a downdraft biomass gasifier: a
comparison. Solar Energy, 82, (2008) 918–928.

[11] D.L. Giltrap, R. McKibbin, G.R.G. Barnes, A steady state

model of gas-char reactions in a downdraft biomass gasifier,
Solar Energy, 74 (2003) 85–91.

[12] T.J. Min, K. Yoshikawa, K. Murakami, Distributed gasification

and power generation from solid wastes, Energy, 30 (2005)
Figure. 7. Influence of char bed length on the product gas calorific 2219–2228.
value
[13] C. Di Blasi, 2000, Dynamic behaviour of stratified downdraft
gasifiers. Chemical Engineering Science, Vol 55, p. 2931-2944.

V. Conclusion
Authors’ information
Char gasification in the downdraft gasifier was 1
studied in this work, and a numerical model was . CRTEn, Route Touristique de Soliman B.P.95, 2050 Hammam-Lif,
Borj Cedria – Tunisia
developed in order to predict the gases fractions at the 2
. METS – IPEIS, Route Menzel Chaker km 0,5 - B.P. 1172, 3018,
exit of the gasifier. The established parametric study Sfax – Tunisia
allowed the identification of the best operating 3
. LASMAP – EPT - IPEIT- Rue Jawaher El Nehru- 1008 Tunis –
conditions for the production of a high hydrogen Tunisia
fraction and high heating value product gas. These Mohamed Ali Masmoudi
results would help us in the construction of our pilot e-mail: mmedali1yahoo.fr
downdraft gasifier. Vitae: Energy Engineer, (2008)
Master degree, ENIM- Tunisia (2009)
Main research interest:
References Biomass energy (thermal processes, combustion
gasification, pyrolysis)
[1] Kantarelis, A. Zabaniotou, Valorization of cotton stalks by fast
pyrolysis and fixed bed air gasification for syngas production as Najla Grioui
precursor of second generation biofuels and sustainable e-mail: najla_grioui2001@yahoo.fr
agriculture, Bioresource Technology 100 (2009) 942–947. Vitae: Dr. Chemistry & Wood Sciences
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
[2] A. Demirbas, Biofuels sources, biofuel policy, biofuel economy Main research interests: Modeling of Biomass thermochemical
and global biofuel projections, Energy Conversion and conversion (Pyrolysis, Carbonization, gasification), Kinetics and heat
Management 49 (2008) 2106–2116 and mass transfer modeling.

[3] Y. Wang, C.M. Kinoshita, Kinetic model of biomass Melik Sahraoui

gasification. Solar Energy 51 (1993) 19–25. e-mail: m_sahraoui@yahoo.com
Vitae: PhD Mechanical Engineering
[4] K. Halouani, S. Golli, 2001, Numerical simulation of energy Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
production by wood gasification plants, International Journal Main research interests: Numerical heat and mass transfer in porous
of Energy, Environment and Economic, 11 (2001) 197. reacting media – Fuel cell modeling

[5] Z.A. Zainal, R. Ali, C.H. Lean, K.N. Seetharamu, Prediction of
performance of a downdraft gasifier using equilibrium
modeling for different biomass materials. Energy Conservation
and Management, 42 (2001) 1499-1515.
[6] Z.A. Zainal, A. Rifau, G.A. Quadir, K.N. Seetharamu,
Experimental investigation of a downdraft biomass gasifier,
Biomass and Bioenergy 23 (2002) 283–289.
[7] T.H. Jayah, L. Aye, R.J. Fuller, D.F. Stewart, Computer
simulation of a downdraft wood gasifier for tea drying. Biomass
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Kamel Halouani
Vitae: Eng., Dr., HdR., Energy Engineering
Professor of Industrial & Energy Engineering
Institute of Engineering Studies of Sfax
(IPEIS), University of Sfax, Tunisia
e-mail: kamel.halouani@ipeis.rnu.tn
Main research interests: Biomass
thermochemical conversion (Combustion,
Pyrolysis, Carbonization, gasification); Fuel cell modeling (PEMFC,
SOFC and DCFC). Heat and mass transfer in reacting media and
two-phase flows.

Copyright © 2009 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved 1st Conference on Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials
(CEAM)

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