CO-gasification of pelletized wood residues

A pelletization process was designed which produces cylindrical pellets ∼8 mm in length and 4 mm in diameter. These ones were manufactured using a blend of Pinus Patula and Cypress sawdust and coal in proportions of 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30% v/v of coal of rank sub-bituminous extracted from the Nechí mine (Amagá-Antioquia). For this procedure, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was used as binder at three different concentrations. The co-gasification experiments were carried out with two kinds of mixtures, the first one was composed of granular coal and pellets of 100% wood and the second one was composed of pulverized wood and granular coal pellets. All samples were co-gasified with steam by using an electrical heated fluidized-bed reactor, operating in batches, at 850 °C. The main components of the gaseous product were H₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄, and N₂ with approximate quantities of 59%, 6.0%, 20%, 5.0%, and 9.0% v/v, respectively, and the higher heating values ranged from between 7.1 and 9.5 MJ/Nm³.