Publication | Peer reviewed papers | Synthesegas und Synthesen
Applying solid fuel chemical looping combustion in a 1 MW dual fluidized bed biomass gasifier: A simulation study on process design
Published 15 January 2026
Citation: Huber M, Florian Benedikt F, Brunauer T, Kuba M, Pröll T, Fleiß B. Applying solid fuel chemical looping combustion in a 1 MW dual fluidized bed biomass gasifier: A simulation study on process design. Fuel. 2026: 404 (A). 136234.
Abstract
The adaptation of a 1 MW advanced dual fluidized bed gasification plant for chemical looping combustion with biomass is investigated, focusing on the cooling strategies and operational parameters under varying biomass moisture content and alternative fuels using the example of plastic waste. The fuel input was adjusted to fulfill the solids circulation rate restrictions in advanced dual fluidized bed reactor systems, leading to a maximum fuel input of 797 kW. Four cooling strategies were analyzed: no cooling, partial and full loop seal cooling, and fluidized bed-based cooling. Though full loop seal cooling demonstrated the highest heat recovery efficiency at 71.3 %, compared to 53.8 % without cooling, the fluidized bed cooler is selected as base case scenario, as the heat recovery efficiency is only marginally lower and this option is implementable in the demonstration plant. The biomass moisture content was varied from 0 % to 40 %. The results showed that heat recovery efficiency remained stable between 71.6 % and 69.8 %, but the contribution of the fluidized bed cooler decreased for higher fuel moisture contents. For moisture contents above 25 wt%, operational parameters such as the steam-to-carbon and air-to-fuel ratio were adjusted to maintain stable fluidization and stable process conditions in the reactor system. The fluidized bed cooler demonstrated effective temperature control at the demonstration scale and may offer a valuable addition to established finned walls for larger systems to improve operational flexibility.