ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Assessment of glycerol gasification: devolatilization kinetics and parametric analysis

Tala El Samad, Idowu Adeyemi, Chaouki Ghenai, and Isam Janajreh

Department of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, City, University of London, London, UK

E-mail: Isam.janajreh@ku.ac.ae

Received: 19 June 2022  Accepted: 27 January 2023

Abstract:

The forecasted need for diesel fuel continues to rise, and likewise, the competitive biodiesel demand in the middle- to long-term future remains promising. Unfortunately, biodiesel production generates a significant amount of crude glycerol with the byproduct typically exceeding 10% of the biodiesel produced. The current glycerol market cannot accommodate the use of waste crude glycerol; therefore, an alternative solution is needed for the utilization of the crude glycerol and gasification is a potential pathway. In this work, the technical feasibility of gasification of crude glycerol is assessed at two levels: equilibrium modeling which was conducted under ideal conditions and high-fidelity reactive flow modeling in a tubular reactor. Results revealed that elevated steam ratios are required for the gasification of glycerol to reach high conversion rates of 99% and an acceptable cold gasification efficiency of 40%. Although this value is far off from the conventional coal gasification that hovers around 60%, the analysis suggests that gasification of crude glycerol can be accepted as an intermediate solution to the expected flood of glycerol generated by the biodiesel transesterification industry before becoming a waste burden.

Keywords: Gasification; Reactive flow; Devolatilization; Chemical kinetics; Glycerol gasification

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-023-02703-9

Chemical Papers 77 (6) 3277–3291 (2023)