Insight From The Study Of Fast Pyrolysis Of Isoberlinia Doka Derived Sawdust For Bio-Oil Production Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Approach

Abstract

The conversion of biomass to bio-oil is now receiving more attention as it provides an alternative source of energy and raw materials for many industries. However, the ability to control the process of maximizing its yield and quality is at its preliminary stage. Hence, investigating bio-oil conversion with ANSYS FLUENT, a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code was necessary. Eulerian multiphase model coupled with the kinetic theory of granular flow was used to resolve the flow-dependent process occurring in the reactor which had been modified to mimic a fluidised behaviour in the bed zone for experiments and now, simulations. Hydrodynamics as well as specie exchange-enabled simulations were carried out with temperature varied between 400-500 0C. Particle size category 0.5 - 1 mm was adopted for simulation instead of <0.5 range based on experimental findings. Hydrodynamic behaviours of gas-specie flow shows that the process is temperature, pressure and velocity dependent. Also, pressure drop was observed over the height of reactor which became marginal within the reaction zone. Predicted bio-oil yield validated experimental data but indicated possibility of better bio-oil recovery if process parameters are strictly controllable experimentally.