Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Industrial-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Coupling Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis Kinetics

The application of fluidized bed reactors to biomass fast pyrolysis is regarded as a promising technology for enabling high-value utilization of biomass. This work established a three-dimensional numerical model of an industrial-scale fluidized bed reactor for biomass catalytic pyrolysis, employing...

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Main Authors: Ruobing Lin, Siyu Wang, Yujie Tao, Xiujuan Feng, Huiyan Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Energies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3601
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author Ruobing Lin
Siyu Wang
Yujie Tao
Xiujuan Feng
Huiyan Zhang
author_facet Ruobing Lin
Siyu Wang
Yujie Tao
Xiujuan Feng
Huiyan Zhang
author_sort Ruobing Lin
collection DOAJ
description The application of fluidized bed reactors to biomass fast pyrolysis is regarded as a promising technology for enabling high-value utilization of biomass. This work established a three-dimensional numerical model of an industrial-scale fluidized bed reactor for biomass catalytic pyrolysis, employing the multiphase particle-in-cell method (MP-PIC) and coupling catalytic pyrolysis kinetics. Primary gas flow rate and biomass–catalyst injection modes were optimized to further improve the performance of the reactor. The model received additional validation from experimental data, primarily to ensure prediction accuracy. The results revealed that an optimal primary gas flow rate of 4 kg/s achieved a peak catalytic efficiency of 71.3%. Using maximum high-quality liquid fuels and adopting a relatively dispersed inlet mode with opposite jetting for biomass and catalyst promoted uniform particle distribution and thermal homogeneity in the dense phase zone, further increasing the catalytic efficiency to 75.6%. With the integration of the multiphase particle-in-cell (MP-PIC) method with catalytic pyrolysis kinetics at the industrial-scale, this work could provide theoretical guidance for designing fluidized bed catalytic pyrolysis reactors and optimizing biomass catalytic pyrolysis processes.
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spelling doaj-art-d49b6dce31044203867455e82cb5ae0c2025-08-20T03:08:01ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-07-011814360110.3390/en18143601Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Industrial-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Coupling Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis KineticsRuobing Lin0Siyu Wang1Yujie Tao2Xiujuan Feng3Huiyan Zhang4Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaKey Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaKey Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaState Key Laboratory for Safe Mining of Deep Coal Resources and Environment Protection, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, ChinaKey Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, ChinaThe application of fluidized bed reactors to biomass fast pyrolysis is regarded as a promising technology for enabling high-value utilization of biomass. This work established a three-dimensional numerical model of an industrial-scale fluidized bed reactor for biomass catalytic pyrolysis, employing the multiphase particle-in-cell method (MP-PIC) and coupling catalytic pyrolysis kinetics. Primary gas flow rate and biomass–catalyst injection modes were optimized to further improve the performance of the reactor. The model received additional validation from experimental data, primarily to ensure prediction accuracy. The results revealed that an optimal primary gas flow rate of 4 kg/s achieved a peak catalytic efficiency of 71.3%. Using maximum high-quality liquid fuels and adopting a relatively dispersed inlet mode with opposite jetting for biomass and catalyst promoted uniform particle distribution and thermal homogeneity in the dense phase zone, further increasing the catalytic efficiency to 75.6%. With the integration of the multiphase particle-in-cell (MP-PIC) method with catalytic pyrolysis kinetics at the industrial-scale, this work could provide theoretical guidance for designing fluidized bed catalytic pyrolysis reactors and optimizing biomass catalytic pyrolysis processes.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3601biomassfluidized bedcatalytic pyrolysis kineticsnumerical simulation
spellingShingle Ruobing Lin
Siyu Wang
Yujie Tao
Xiujuan Feng
Huiyan Zhang
Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Industrial-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Coupling Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis Kinetics
Energies
biomass
fluidized bed
catalytic pyrolysis kinetics
numerical simulation
title Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Industrial-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Coupling Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis Kinetics
title_full Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Industrial-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Coupling Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis Kinetics
title_fullStr Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Industrial-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Coupling Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis Kinetics
title_full_unstemmed Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Industrial-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Coupling Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis Kinetics
title_short Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Industrial-Scale Fluidized Bed Reactor Coupling Biomass Catalytic Pyrolysis Kinetics
title_sort numerical simulation and optimization of industrial scale fluidized bed reactor coupling biomass catalytic pyrolysis kinetics
topic biomass
fluidized bed
catalytic pyrolysis kinetics
numerical simulation
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3601
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AT xiujuanfeng numericalsimulationandoptimizationofindustrialscalefluidizedbedreactorcouplingbiomasscatalyticpyrolysiskinetics
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