Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) has been shown to be an effective technology to valorize a wide range of organic waste by transforming them into gases with high energy potential, such as hydrogen and methane. However, the industrial implementation of these processes is rarely extended due to the huge energy requirements during plant start-up and operation. The purpose of this study is to explore feasible ways of energy integration by hybridizing SCWG processes with combined heat and power technologies, such as exhaust gases coming from (i) internal combustion engines or (ii) gas turbines. The analysis focuses on energy consumption with the aim of optimizing the operation and design of plants. System configurations are simulated with Aspen Plus considering data from the literature for the gasification of glycerol and using typical plant capacities on an industrial scale. Results show the thermal power required in heat exchangers and the electricity generation from residual energy in hot effluents as a needed step to optimize the plant configuration and boost energy synergies with other technologies.
Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is a promising technology for the valorization of wet biomass with a high-water content, which has attracted increasing interest. Many experimental studies have been carried out using conventional heating equipment at lab scale, where researchers try to obtain insight into the process. However, heat transfer from the energy source to the fluid stream entering the reactor may be ineffective, so slow heating occurs that produces a series of undesirable reactions, especially char formation and tar formation. This paper reviews the limitations due to different factors affecting heat transfer, such as low Reynolds numbers or laminar flow regimes, unknown real fluid temperature as this is usually measured on the tubing surface, the strong change in physical properties of water from subcritical to supercritical that boosts a deterioration in heat transfer, and the insufficient mixing, among others. In addition, some troubleshooting and new perspectives in the design of efficient and effective devices are described and proposed to enhance heat transfer, which is an essential aspect in the experimental studies of SCWG to move it forward to a larger scale.
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