(249a) Three Dimensional Prediction of a Chemical Reacting Syngas Gasifier with the CPFD Eulerian-Lagrangian Method

A detailed three-dimensional computational particle fluid dynamics simulation of an industrial scale syngas-producing coal gasification reactor is presented. The reactor is 4.5 meters in diameter and 14 meters tall, with four cyclones, a gas sparger, and internal structures. The solid-gas flow is described by a solid-particle fluid dynamic sceme where the 3-D solids dynamics are a Lagrangian description and the gas phase is a 3-D Eulerian description. Gas reactions from steam-carbon pyrolysis and production of syngas are described by nine implicitly coupled chemical rate equations. The simulation predicts complex particle-fluid flow behavior within the reactor, including bubbles and streamers. These structures impact gas-solids contact, and are shown to affect the coupled reacting flow. We present detailed information on solids concentration profiles, gas species concentrations, fluid and particle temperature, and reaction rates throughout the reactor. Both instantaneous and time-averaged results are presented. The results of this analysis are compared against available published results.