Experimental and numerical modeling of carbonized biomass gasification: A critical review

Gasification is one of the most significant and well-researched pathways to produce energy from biomass among the different options available. It is a conversion through thermo-chemical process that takes place within a gasifier, with interconnected factors that have an impact on how well the gasifier works. Gasification of carbonized biomass, which has a variety of effects on both the gasification process and the final product, is a significant method of producing energy from raw biomass that contains a lot of moisture or has non-homogeneous morphology. Although carbonized biomass has the potential to eliminate or significantly reduce tar formation, which is the most difficult aspect of biomass gasifier design and operation, it has not received the attention it merits even though gasification of biomass is a well-known conversion process with extensive research and development spanning all sectors of the process. This review gathers and analyzes the growing number of experimental and numerical modeling approaches in gasification of carbonized biomass based on exact conditions such as type of modeling considerations, feedstock, gasifier, and assessed parameters. The study also provides an overview of various models, such as equilibrium and kinetic rate models and numerical simulations of carbonized biomass gasification schemes based on computational fluid dynamics and Aspen Plus, while comparing the modeling approaches and results for each type of models that are described in the literature. Also, this review encompasses a broad variety of technologies, from laboratory reactors to industrial scale. Overall, this review offers a brief overview of the modeling decisions that must be taken at the beginning of a modeling research.