Study of the Influence of Process Parameters on Biomass Gasification using UniSim Design Environment

Gasification is the thermal process that converts biomass into useful combustible and advantageous gaseous fuels or into chemical raw material that can be burned or used to produce chemicals with added value. The combustible gas contains carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, water, nitrogen. The aim of the paper is to develop a simulation model of biomass gasification process using UniSim Design environment. A steady-state model was elaborated for hardwood biomass to study the effect of variable process parameters on the products syngas composition. Results show that CO yield decrease with enhancement of water content, leading to a higher CO2 yield, due to the reforming reaction. The mole fraction of CO shows a decrease from 0.13 to 0.02 mole fraction, as the air flow rate increases from 1 to 15 kg/h, meanwhile the hydrogen content rises.