Experimental study of distributor plate in fluidization systems of biomass-sand mixtures

Abstract

Nowadays, in Brazil there is a great interest in the use of bio-energy from sugarcane (bagasse and straw) in thermochemical processes (combustion, gasification and pyrolysis). These processes are performed mostly in fluidized bed reactors due to its advantages such as simple construction, temperature control and high rates of heat and mass transfer. However, a particular feature of the biomass fluidization is the difficulty to fluidize its particles due to their irregular shapes, diversity of sizes and specific mass, requiring the use of inert material (sand) to improve the fluidization conditions. A fundamental technical aspect in design of the reactor is the distributor plate of fluidization air, which affects the quality of fluidization (gas-solid contact), the dispersion of particles in feed and the segregation of the solids in the bed. The main aim of this project is to study experimentally the effects of distribution plate on the fluidization quality of mixture of biomass (bagasse and straw) and inert material (sand) by assessing the mixture degree and segregation of particles.