IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i5p1494-d513349.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Solar Thermochemical Green Fuels Production: A Review of Biomass Pyro-Gasification, Solar Reactor Concepts and Modelling Methods

Author

Listed:
  • Stéphane Abanades

    (Processes, Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory, PROMES-CNRS, 7 Rue du Four Solaire, 66120 Font-Romeu, France)

  • Sylvain Rodat

    (Processes, Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory, PROMES-CNRS, 7 Rue du Four Solaire, 66120 Font-Romeu, France)

  • Houssame Boujjat

    (CEA-LITEN Solar and Thermodynamic Systems Laboratory (L2ST), F-38054 Grenoble, France)

Abstract

This paper addresses the solar thermochemical conversion of biomass or waste feedstocks based on pyro-gasification for the clean production of high-value and energy-intensive fuels. The utilization of solar energy for supplying the required process heat is attractive to lower the dependence of gasification processes on conventional energy resources and to reduce emissions of CO 2 and other pollutants for the production of high-value chemical synthetic fuels (syngas). Using concentrated solar energy to drive the endothermal reactions further allows producing more syngas with a higher gas quality, since it has not been contaminated by combustion products, while saving biomass resources. The solar-driven process is thus a sustainable and promising alternative route, enabling syngas yield enhancement and CO 2 mitigation, thereby potentially outperforming the performance of conventional processes for syngas production. This review presents relevant research studies in the field and provides the scientific/technical knowledge and background necessary to address the different aspects of the solar gasification process. An overview of the available solar concentrating technologies and their performance metrics is first introduced. The solar gasifier concepts and designs that were studied from lab to industrial scale are presented, along with their main benefits and limitations. The different management strategies proposed to deal with solar energy variations are also outlined, as well as the major pilot-scale applications and large-scale system level simulations. A specific emphasis is provided on the spouted bed technology that appears promising for the gasification process. Finally, the main modeling approaches of pyro-gasification and kinetics for simulation of gasifiers are described. This study thus provides a detailed overview of the efforts made to enhance the thermochemical performance of solar-assisted biomass gasification for synthetic fuel production.

Suggested Citation

  • Stéphane Abanades & Sylvain Rodat & Houssame Boujjat, 2021. "Solar Thermochemical Green Fuels Production: A Review of Biomass Pyro-Gasification, Solar Reactor Concepts and Modelling Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-33, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:5:p:1494-:d:513349
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1494/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1494/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rodat, Sylvain & Abanades, Stéphane & Boujjat, Houssame & Chuayboon, Srirat, 2020. "On the path toward day and night continuous solar high temperature thermochemical processes: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    2. Chuayboon, Srirat & Abanades, Stéphane & Rodat, Sylvain, 2019. "Insights into the influence of biomass feedstock type, particle size and feeding rate on thermochemical performances of a continuous solar gasification reactor," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 360-370.
    3. Mariarosa Argentiero & Pasquale Marcello Falcone, 2020. "The Role of Earth Observation Satellites in Maximizing Renewable Energy Production: Case Studies Analysis for Renewable Power Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Williams, Paul T. & Besler, Serpil, 1996. "The influence of temperature and heating rate on the slow pyrolysis of biomass," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 233-250.
    5. Cortazar, M. & Lopez, G. & Alvarez, J. & Amutio, M. & Bilbao, J. & Olazar, M., 2018. "Advantages of confining the fountain in a conical spouted bed reactor for biomass steam gasification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 455-463.
    6. Pandey, Krishna Murari & Chaurasiya, Rajesh, 2017. "A review on analysis and development of solar flat plate collector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 641-650.
    7. Li, Xian & Shen, Ye & Kan, Xiang & Hardiman, Timothy Kurnia & Dai, Yanjun & Wang, Chi-Hwa, 2018. "Thermodynamic assessment of a solar/autothermal hybrid gasification CCHP system with an indirectly radiative reactor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 201-214.
    8. Yadav, Deepak & Banerjee, Rangan, 2016. "A review of solar thermochemical processes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 497-532.
    9. Wang, Jiangjiang & Ma, Chaofan & Wu, Jing, 2019. "Thermodynamic analysis of a combined cooling, heating and power system based on solar thermal biomass gasification☆," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 102-115.
    10. Septien, S. & Escudero Sanz, F.J. & Salvador, S. & Valin, S., 2018. "The effect of pyrolysis heating rate on the steam gasification reactivity of char from woodchips," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 68-78.
    11. Houssame Boujjat & Sylvain Rodat & Stéphane Abanades, 2020. "Solar-hybrid Thermochemical Gasification of Wood Particles and Solid Recovered Fuel in a Continuously-Fed Prototype Reactor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, October.
    12. Boujjat, Houssame & Rodat, Sylvain & Chuayboon, Srirat & Abanades, Stéphane, 2019. "Experimental and numerical study of a directly irradiated hybrid solar/combustion spouted bed reactor for continuous steam gasification of biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bai, Zhang & Gu, Yucheng & Wang, Shuoshuo & Jiang, Tieliu & Kong, Debin & Li, Qi, 2023. "Applying the solar solid particles as heat carrier to enhance the solar-driven biomass gasification with dynamic operation power generation performance analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 351(C).
    2. Alvarez Rivero, M. & Rodrigues, D. & Pinheiro, C.I.C. & Cardoso, J.P. & Mendes, L.F., 2022. "Solid–gas reactors driven by concentrated solar energy with potential application to calcium looping: A comparative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    3. Mahmoud G. Hemeida & Ashraf M. Hemeida & Tomonobu Senjyu & Dina Osheba, 2022. "Renewable Energy Resources Technologies and Life Cycle Assessment: Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-36, December.
    4. Curcio, Axel & Rodat, Sylvain & Vuillerme, Valéry & Abanades, Stéphane, 2022. "Design and validation of reactant feeding control strategies for the solar-autothermal hybrid gasification of woody biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PC).
    5. Stéphane Abanades, 2022. "Redox Cycles, Active Materials, and Reactors Applied to Water and Carbon Dioxide Splitting for Solar Thermochemical Fuel Production: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-28, September.
    6. Zeng, Jia & Xuan, Yimin & Li, Qiang, 2023. "Direct solar-thermal scalable-decomposition of methanol flowing through a nanoparticle-packed bed reactor under outdoor environment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Curcio, Axel & Rodat, Sylvain & Vuillerme, Valéry & Abanades, Stéphane, 2022. "Design and validation of reactant feeding control strategies for the solar-autothermal hybrid gasification of woody biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PC).
    2. Houssame Boujjat & Sylvain Rodat & Stéphane Abanades, 2020. "Solar-hybrid Thermochemical Gasification of Wood Particles and Solid Recovered Fuel in a Continuously-Fed Prototype Reactor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Fang, Yi & Paul, Manosh C. & Varjani, Sunita & Li, Xian & Park, Young-Kwon & You, Siming, 2021. "Concentrated solar thermochemical gasification of biomass: Principles, applications, and development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    4. Chuayboon, Srirat & Abanades, Stéphane, 2023. "Carbon-neutral synfuel production via continuous solar H2O and CO2 gasification of oil palm empty fruit bunch," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    5. Rodat, Sylvain & Abanades, Stéphane & Boujjat, Houssame & Chuayboon, Srirat, 2020. "On the path toward day and night continuous solar high temperature thermochemical processes: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    6. Youssef Karout & Axel Curcio & Julien Eynard & Stéphane Thil & Sylvain Rodat & Stéphane Abanades & Valéry Vuillerme & Stéphane Grieu, 2023. "Model-Based Predictive Control of a Solar Hybrid Thermochemical Reactor for High-Temperature Steam Gasification of Biomass," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Zhang, Hao & Shuai, Yong & Lougou, Bachirou Guene & Jiang, Boshu & Yang, Dazhi & Pan, Qinghui & Wang, Fuqiang & Huang, Xing, 2022. "Effects of foam structure on thermochemical characteristics of porous-filled solar reactor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    8. Wang, Shuoshuo & Tuo, Yongxiao & Zhu, Xiaoli & Li, Fulai & Bai, Zhang & Gu, Yucheng, 2024. "Systematic assessment for an integrated hydrogen approach towards the cross-regional application considering solar thermochemical and methanol carrier11The short version of the paper was presented at ," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 370(C).
    9. Weldekidan, Haftom & Strezov, Vladimir & Li, Rui & Kan, Tao & Town, Graham & Kumar, Ravinder & He, Jing & Flamant, Gilles, 2020. "Distribution of solar pyrolysis products and product gas composition produced from agricultural residues and animal wastes at different operating parameters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1102-1109.
    10. Wang, Jiangjiang & Han, Zepeng & Guan, Zhimin, 2020. "Hybrid solar-assisted combined cooling, heating, and power systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. Suopajärvi, Hannu & Umeki, Kentaro & Mousa, Elsayed & Hedayati, Ali & Romar, Henrik & Kemppainen, Antti & Wang, Chuan & Phounglamcheik, Aekjuthon & Tuomikoski, Sari & Norberg, Nicklas & Andefors, Alf , 2018. "Use of biomass in integrated steelmaking – Status quo, future needs and comparison to other low-CO2 steel production technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 384-407.
    12. Sadeghi, Shayan & Ghandehariun, Samane, 2022. "A standalone solar thermochemical water splitting hydrogen plant with high-temperature molten salt: Thermodynamic and economic analyses and multi-objective optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    13. Fudholi, Ahmad & Sopian, Kamaruzzaman, 2019. "A review of solar air flat plate collector for drying application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 333-345.
    14. Zhou, Yuan & Wang, Jiangjiang & Dong, Fuxiang & Qin, Yanbo & Ma, Zherui & Ma, Yanpeng & Li, Jianqiang, 2021. "Novel flexibility evaluation of hybrid combined cooling, heating and power system with an improved operation strategy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    15. Filipović, P. & Dović, D. & Horvat, I. & Ranilović, B., 2023. "Evaluation of a novel polymer solar collector using numerical and experimental methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    16. Zhou, Liqun & Wang, Yiping & Huang, Qunwu, 2019. "Parametric analysis on the performance of flat plate collector with transparent insulation material," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 534-542.
    17. Yang, Wei-Wei & Tang, Xin-Yuan & Ma, Xu & Li, Jia-Chen & Xu, Chao & He, Ya-Ling, 2023. "Rapid prediction, optimization and design of solar membrane reactor by data-driven surrogate model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    18. Suarez, Mayra Alejandra & Januszewicz, Katarzyna & Cortazar, Maria & Lopez, Gartzen & Santamaria, Laura & Olazar, Martin & Artetxe, Maite & Amutio, Maider, 2024. "Selective H2 production from plastic waste through pyrolysis and in-line oxidative steam reforming," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    19. Yadav, Deepak & Banerjee, Rangan, 2020. "Net energy and carbon footprint analysis of solar hydrogen production from the high-temperature electrolysis process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    20. Khouya, Ahmed, 2021. "Modelling and analysis of a hybrid solar dryer for woody biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:5:p:1494-:d:513349. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.