Enhancement of performance and emission characteristics by co-gasification of biomass and coal using an entrained flow gasifier

Abstract Co-gasification of renewable biomass and coal is a promising technique to reduce greenhouse gas emission beside increasing gasification performance instead of individual coal gasification. In this study, the co-gasification performance of pine bark (PB) biomass and Barapukurian bituminous coal (BBC) have been assessed using a high-temperature entrained flow gasifier using CO2 reactant. Results show that increasing biomass concentration increases the carbon conversion, syngas quality and cold gas efficiency (CGE), while reduces emission. For example, an addition of 20% biomass with coal increased the carbon conversion by 21.5, 10.6 and 4.5%-point at temperatures of 1000, 1200 and 1400 °C compared to pure coal gasification. Similarly, increasing biomass ratio in the blend increased the yield of CO by 11–36 vol% under different temperatures. Also, the CGE, fragmentation index ( F I = ∑ i n F D o ) and alkali and alkaline earth minerals in ash were increased with increasing biomass ratio in the blend. Overall, at least 50% of coal can be replaced with renewable biomass considering performance and emission characteristics, making the technology more sustainable.