Modeling of Tar Thermal Cracking in a Plasma Reactor
Résumé
This paper deals with the theoretical modeling of a high temperature reactor devoted to the thermal cracking of tars contained in a gas coming from a biomass gasifier. The aim of this paper is to give an insight into the chemical reactions that take part in this conversion but also into the reactions that may occur in such environment. The investigation is carried on using the simplest continuous reactor configuration that exists (completely stirred tank reactor), which allows to address the effects of chemical reactions without taking into account the mixing. This paper presents the complete set of reactions taken into account. It can also be noticed that this model also describes possible gasification of char particles entering the reactor. An in-depth analysis of the weight of the involved reactions is proposed for the nominal conditions of the reactor operation. The results of the model are also compared to the results of a previous one, highlighting the benefits of the actual model. These results are also compared to values obtained during operation of a pilot plant. Finally, the influence of five of the operating parameters of the reactor is theoretically investigated. It shows that these parameters can have an important impact on reactor operation, but also that conditions can be found that always lead to a conversion of at least 95% of the incoming tars. \textcopyright 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.