The 13th Joint Conference on Renewable Energy and Nanotechnology was held at Fukuoka Woman’s University from Jan. 11 to 12, 2025. The master course student in my laboratory won the Best Oral Presentation Award.

Winners

• 1st master course student: Ms. Mayu Hamazaki
• Prof. Kiyoshi Dowaki (Tokyo University of Science, Supervisor)
• Others

Research Title

Advantages of the potential of char combustion for improving the heat exchange efficiency and environmental impact of heat carriers in biomass gasification

Details

Advanced gasification module (AGM) is the biomass gasification process that uses sewage sludge as feedstock. Tar generation during pyrolysis is one of the problems of AGM because tar condensations on the pipes and furnaces cause blockages and the degradation of heat transfer efficiency. Tar will be removed by thermal decomposition, but it requires a high reaction temperature, more than 700 ℃. Heat transfer in the pyrolizer is controlled by the circulation of heat carriers (HCs).
Therefore, HC temperature is an important factor in tar decomposition. We focused on char combustion for heat supply to HCs to reduce the additional energy input such as LPG. Char is the solid subproduct of pyrolysis and has potential as fuel because more than half of char is composed of carbon. The additional char combustion would improve the heating rate of HCs. This means that a higher temperature of HC can be obtained and that heat distribution is harmonious. Based on the experimental results, this study investigated the thermal efficiency of HC heating and hydrogen production using CFD simulation.

Congratulations!