Virtual Talk on Biomass Gasification

Mike Gentilcore, Past Chair of the St. Louis Section AIChE and a retiree of Mallincrodt will present a talk on Biomass Gasification.  This promises to be a good technical presentation for everyone.

This talk will focus on the basics of performing heat and material balances for Biomass Gasification.  A mix model approach of the needed empirical correlations and equilibrium calculations will be presented for a flowsheet.  A complex set of chemistry will be logically simplified in this mix model to give a set of two governing equilibriums.  The calculation of equilibrium constants from thermodynamics will be explained.   Calculated values will be compared to some published data. The algorithm for trial and error solution of the heat, material and equilibrium relationships will be presented.  The mathematical and numerical method techniques to solve a set of nonlinear equations will be explained.  The use of either Excel or Chemcad in solving this problem will be discussed.  Some different styles of gasifiers, and the applicability of the model will also be discussed.

• A mix model approach flowsheet of the needed empirical correlations and equilibrium calculations
• A complex set of chemistry will be logically simplified in this mix model to give a set of two governing equilibriums
• An explanation of the calculation of equilibrium constants from thermodynamics
• The algorithm for trial and error solution of the heat, material and equilibrium relationships
• The mathematical and numerical method techniques to solve a set of nonlinear equations
• The use of either Excel or Chemcad in solving these types of problems
• Some different styles of gasifiers, and the applicability of the mix model

The biomass gasification problem is interesting in that it requires use of a large variety of our chemical engineering tools. This talk is an excellent refresher of basic chemical engineering calculations, chemical engineering thermodynamics, nonlinear equations and numerical methods. 1 PDH will be awarded.

The ZOOM link for this talk will be made available on the email sent to our members and can be obtained by contacting the local section at:  stlouis.aiche@gmail.com