Modeling and numerical simulation of hydrogen production with supercritical water gasification of biomass

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was established for hyhrogen production with supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of biomass in a tubular reactor and the kinetic models for supercritical water gasification of glucose was also proposed. These models results were validated by comparing with experimental data of reactor outlet temperature and gas yield distribution from a tubular reactor. The detailed flow field, temperature distribution, and chemical component distribution inside the reactor were revealed using this CFD model. The effects of different process parameters including the inlet water temperature, wall temperature of reactor, and the ratio of flow rate between feedstock and preheated water on the distributions of temperature, reaction rate and chemical components inside the reactor were also investigated by the model, and a series of conclusions was achieved. The model and numerical results obtained in this paper are valuable in optimal design of a tubular reactor and optimal choice of the operation conditions in supercritical water gasification of biomass.