Computer models aim to aid ‘syngas’ production
University of Saskatchewan researcher Reza Haghgoo has developed a novel computer model to help engineers design more efficient equipment used across the energy sector for producing chemicals including syngas, a clean energy source with the potential to replace natural gas in generating electricity.
Syngas — a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide — is a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels and is produced in refinery equipment called fluidized beds.
Syngas is a growing industry, especially in Asia and Australia.
The gas helps refine other chemicals. As of 2014, 25 per cent of ammonia and more than 30 per cent of methanol worldwide was produced using syngas.
“The current production process in fluidized beds is not very efficient and our research tackles that,” said Raymond Spiteri, a University of Saskatchewan computer science professor and Haghgoo’s former co-supervisor.
Haghgoo’s computer model creates virtual simulations that could help companies save time and tens of thousands of dollars for largescale testing because engineers would know in advance if their fluidized bed design is practical or if it doesn’t work.
He said it is extremely difficult, time-consuming and prohibitively expensive to obtain actual measurements inside industrial-scale fluidized beds, where millions of particles interact at the same time.
Haghgoo’s simulations have the advantage of studying overall particle flows instead of looking at the behaviour of individual particles.
The findings, part of Haghgoo’s PHD project, are published in Particuology, Powder Technology and the International Journal of Multiphase Flow.
“Reza’s research contributions have positioned us at the forefront of gas-particle simulation research in Canada and the world,” said Donald Bergstrom, University of Saskatchewan mechanical engineering professor and Haghgoo’s former co-supervisor.
Inside fluidized beds, particles of coal or biomass — plant or animal-derived waste — react with air at high pressure and temperature in intense mixing zones that synthesize syngas. Because particle flows are very chaotic and unpredictable, understanding how they behave inside fluidized beds is key to designing more efficient equipment.
A combination of physics and advanced computational methods, Haghgoo’s virtual simulations of particle flows predict the complex and constantly changing conditions of the flows in fluidized beds.
“The better the mixing rate of air and particles, the more efficiently the fluidized bed will operate,” said Haghgoo, now a post-doctoral fellow in mechanical engineering.
Many industrial processes use fluidized beds across the resource and energy sector, and Haghgoo’s research could be especially important for processing potash in Saskatchewan.
“Reza’s computer model could also be used for predicting pneumatic transport in air seeders, slurry flow in pipelines, or sediment deposition in rivers. I am extremely excited about future applications,” said Bergstrom.
The research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Carbon Management Canada. Federica Giannelli is a graduate student intern in the University of Saskatchewan research profile and impact unit. This content runs through a partnership with The Starphoenix.