Model of combustion and dispersion of carbon deposited on porous bed material during bubbling fluidized bed combustion

Porous bed materials capture volatile matter as carbon deposits during fluidized bed combustion of high-volatile fuels such as biomass and wastes. Carbon deposits burn in a dense bed mixed with bed materials; thereby enhancing horizontal dispersion of carbonaceous materials. Commercial scaling-up requires a model that simultaneously assesses carbon deposit combustion and horizontal solid dispersion. This study measured the carbon deposit combustion rate using a fluidized bed. A one-dimensional model of carbon deposit combustion in a fluidized bed is based on the carbon deposit burning rate. A two-dimensional model incorporates reactions and solid dispersion to predict the horizontal concentration profile. Experiments using a bubbling fluidized bed validated that model. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.