Indirectly heated biomass gasification using a latent-heat ballast—part 3: refinement of the heat transfer model

An indirectly heated gasifier is under development at Iowa State University. This gasifier integrates a latent-heat ballast with a fluidized-bed reactor. The latent heat ballast is an array of stainless-steel tubes filled with lithium fluoride, which is a high-temperature phase-change material (PCM). Previous studies have presented experimental results from the gasifier and described a mathematical model of the pyrolysis phase of the cyclic gasification process. This model considers both heat transfer and chemical reactions that occur during pyrolysis, but discrepancies between model predictions and experimental data have demonstrated the need to refine the model. In particular, cooling curves for the ballasting system are not well predicted during phase change of the lithium fluoride. A reformulated model, known as the Receding Interface (RI) model, postulates the existence of a receding liquid phase within the ballast tubes as they cool, which progressively decreases the rate of heat transfer from the tubes. The RI model predicts behavior that is more consistent with experimental results during the phase-change process, while retaining accuracy before and after the process of phase change.