Presentations

The first contribution presents experimental and modelling activities related with Sorption-Enhanced DME synthesis reactors. The second poster presents a techno-economic analysis of Biomass-to-Methanol plants and the additional flexibility given by hydrogen addition to the syngas. The third contribution provides an overview of the methodology and of some preliminary results on process safety analysis and Life Cycle Assessment.

The presentation covers results achieved from SEG with wood pellets and pellets made out of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Results are presented comprehensively focusing on syngas composition, considering standard gases (H2, CO, CO2 and CH4), lower hydrocarbons (C2-C4) and tars. It is shown that the facility can be operated stably with both investigated fuels and that both fuels are suitable for the production of a syngas with a Module M equal to 2 that is required for downstream DME synthesis.

This work presents the concept behind CO2 utilization for synthetic fuels production and the advantages of Sorption Enhanced technologies for process intensification and cost reduction. A sensibility analysis on the main parameters influencing the SEDMES process design and performance is also presented.

This work presents the optimization of ORCs for recovering waste heat from a novel process for the co-production of methanol and electricity from biomass. The process uses a flexible sorption enhanced gasification reactor, developed in the framework of the H2020 EU project FLEDGED. The heat integration study is particularly interesting because the process features multiple hot and cold streams at different temperatures (i.e., the calciner flue gases, the syngas coolers, etc.) making it necessary to optimize not only the ORC configuration (i.e., single vs. multiple pressure levels, regenerative vs. simple cycle, combined heat and power arrangement, etc.) but also the heat exchanger network.
For two candidate working fluids, hexane and R1233zde, the cycle and heat integration are optimized using the p-h ORC superstructure and a systematic synthesis methodology recently proposed by Martelli et al. (2017). The optimization aims at maximizing the economic performance of the system taking into account the trade-off between efficiency and costs.

The first contribution presents an experimental investigation of RWGS reaction use in order to increase in-situ the CO/CO2 ratio of biomass-derived CO2-rich syngas feed before the syngas-to-methanol catalyst. The objective is to enhance syngas conversion per pass. The second poster presents an experimental investigation of the activity of HSiW catalyst on different supports. The effect of high temperature and pressure conditions has been also investigated.

The first contribution presents an elaborate model study on the cyclic SEDMES process, which is conducted in parallel to an experimental research line. The combination of theory and experiments in a fundamental way is crucial for a proper understanding of this type of process. Feed flexibility and regeneration strategies are also presented. The second presentation is a wider overview of sorption-enhanced processes for chemicals sysnthesis from biogenic carbon.

Sorption enhanced gasification (SEG) is a promising technology for production of a renewable feedstock gas for dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis process. 1D bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) reactor model was developed and validated to gain knowledge from phenomena governing SEG processes.

The production of biofuels such as methanol and DME from bio-syngas is a topic of great interest. The production of methanol from syngas derived from natural has been studied extensively, using Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 (CZA) catalysts as benchmark. In this work, the effect of reducing the CO2 content of the bio-syngas through the reverse water gas shift (R-WGS) reaction before the methanol synthesis has been studied. In order to that, the possibility of using a double catalytic bed, using a RWGS catalyst as the upper bed and a CZA catalysts for the methanol synthesis as the lower bed has been studied. Our results indicate that in order to obtain higher methanol productivities, the H2O produced during the RWGS has to be removed before the CO2-lean bio-syngas reaches the CZA catalytic bed.

The presentation provides an overview of the Sorption-enhanced DME synthesis (SEDMES) process and of its application for CO2 utilization. FLEDGED and E2C EU projects are presented as examples of integrated processe involving SEDMES. 

The first poster provides an overview of the influence of different operating parameters on syngas composition, presenting the results of an experimental campaing performed in the 200 kWth dual fluidized bed facility at University of Stuttgart. The second poster provides a preliminary analysis of the performance of the FLEDGED system with and without methane recovery and hydrogen addition.

The presentation provides an overview of the project concept, of the methodology and of some preliminary results on process safety analysis and Life Cycle Assessment. 

The poster provides an overview of the complete FLEDGED configuration and of the preliminary techno-economic analysis for the baseline case. Reported performance is consistent with those reported in the literature for biomass to DME plants. A more comprehensive discussion of the topic can be found in the public deliverable D4.1. 

The first presentation provides an overview on the advantages of in-situ CO2 and H2O sorption in SEWGS and SEDMES chemical reactors. The second presentation compares two configurations of one-step direct synthesis reactor for DME synthesis (bed of mixed pellets vs. bed of hybrid pellets). The influence on the reaction kinetics is investigated by means of detailed mass, energy and momentum balances, including reaction schemes from literature.

Presentation on a process assessment of two synthetic fuel production plants based on a flexible Sorption Enhanced Gasification (SEG) of biomass is carried out, one focused on Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) and the other on dimethyl ether (DME) production. Mass and energy balances of these two synthetic fuel production plants have been solved and their performance has been compared. The calculated biomass-to-fuel equivalent cold gas efficiency CGEeq (i.e. accounting for energy credits/debits associated to electricity export/import) ranges from 53.7% of the bio-SNG plant to 51.3% of the bio-DME plant. The assessed plants are also able to capture 63-67% of the inlet biomass carbon, leading to negative Well-to-Wheel emissions (around -160 g/km). The WTW CO2 emission saving in comparison with a conventional diesel vehicle is then around 260 g/km.

Presentation on the preliminary process modelling study and heat integration optimization for a novel highly intensified and flexible process for the co-production of bio-DME and electricity from biomass. The process combines two “sorption-enhanced” reactors: a flexible sorption enhanced gasification and a novel sorption enhanced DME synthesis. The novel system is being developed in the framework of the H2020 EU project FLEDGED. The preliminary process simulation is based on simplified (first-principle) models of the main process units while the heat integration optimization is performed with a systematic energy targeting methodology. The DME off-gas can be used in a gas turbine or in an internal combustion engine with minor differences in efficiency while the process waste heat can be efficiently recovered by a multiple-pressure-level heat recovery steam cycle. According to the results, the plant can achieve a biomass-to-DME conversion efficiency of 31.14 % (LHV basis) and a biomass-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 19.3 %.

Presentation on the analysis of the effect of different operating parameters (e.g. steam-to-carbon (S/C) ratio, CO₂ sorption capacity and sorbent-to-biomass ratio) in the syngas composition and char conversion obtained in a 20-30 kW_th bubbling fluidized bed gasifier, using grape seeds as feedstock. The importance of reducing the formation of higher hydrocarbons through a higher steam-to-carbon ratio and using a CO₂ sorbent with high sorption capacity is assessed. C₂+ concentrations below 0.6%vol. (in dry basis) can be achieved when working with S/C ratios of 1.5 at gasification temperatures from 700 to 740ºC. Varying the amount of the CO₂ separated in the gasifier (by modifying the temperature or the CO₂ sorption capacity of the sorbent) the content of H₂, CO and CO₂ in the syngas produced can be greatly modified, resulting in a module M=(H₂-CO₂)/(CO+CO₂) that ranges from 1.2 to almost 3.

Presentation on the thermodynamics of CO/CO2 conversion to liquid fuels and different options for Sorption Enhnaced DME Synthesis.

Presentation on the feasibility of the sorption-enhanced DME synthesis (SEDMES) process related with efficient regeneration of the system: the pressure swing approach is combined with temperature swing regeneraton to enhance the global performances. Poster on modelling activities of sorption enhanced DME synthesis reactors: thermodynamic and kinetic analysis to check the advantages of a preliminary step without sorbent and to evaluate the heat management of the reactors.

Presentation on the validation and investigation of tailored syngas production in a 200 kWth dual fluidized bed facility. Experimental results for SEG gasification.

Poster on sorption enhanced direct DME synthesis from tailored syngas. In this effort an investigation into the impact of the regeneration conditions on the catalyst performance for the sorption-enhanced DME synthesis is presented. CZA catalyst is active for SEDMES and provides significant conversion enhancement compared to conventional DME synthesis. Regeneration by temperature swing to 400 °C further improves the DME yield pre and post water breakthrough, as well as the adsorbent capacity. The interaction of water with alumina provides understanding of the impact of the regeneration temperature on the catalyst activity.

Presentation and poster about SEDMES technology for enhanced DME synthesis. Experimental proof-of-concept has shown increased DME yield, improved selectivity towards DME over methanol and reduced CO2 content in the product. Inherent to the adsorptive reactor concept, both the catalyst and adsorbent are periodically subjected to a regeneration procedure whose operating conditions strongly influence the effectiveness of the system.

Presentation on sorption enhanced direct DME synthesis from tailored syngas. A novel sorption enhanced dimethyl ether synthesis (SEDMES) process is presented using a solid adsorbent to remove produced water in situ. SEDMES experiments from feed mixtures of H₂, CO, and CO₂ have shown an increased yield of DME, an improved selectivity to DME over methanol, and a strongly reduced CO₂ content in the product.

Presentations on the production of tailored syngas for DME synthesis by sorption enhanced gasification SEG and on the 3D-modelling of the governing phenomena inside the gasifier.