Model based evaluation of six energy integration schemes applied to a small-scale gasification process for power generation

This work considers the use of spent poultry litter as a fuel for on-site power generation. On-site use eliminates the need for the transportation of biomass to centralised plants and the associated bio-security issues. This work utilised process simulation to investigate six process integration schemes applied to a small scale gasification unit with a gas turbine prime mover. The model was used to evaluate schemes involving atmospheric gasification, pressurised gasification and recuperation of energy from the gas turbine exhaust gases. The recuperation of residual heat to preheat air and produced gases was performed with the aim of achieving the highest electrical efficiency. The cold gasification and exergy efficiencies were in the ranges of 58.4-79.5% and 46.8-65.7%, respectively, which mainly increased with increasing ER and then after achieving the maximum value declined. The preferred configuration of the proposed 200-kW process achieved electrical efficiencies between 26% and 33.5%. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.