Process simulation and energetic analysis of different supercritical water gasification systems for the valorisation of biomass

International audienceThe energetic efficiency for the supercritical gasification of biomass is studied for three cases: hydrogen and methane production, heat and electricity cogeneration. Experimental results from the gasification of glucose are used to represent the gasifier. The other unit operations are simulated using the software ProsimPlus through thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. Simulations are conducted at different pressure, temperature and initial biomass concentration. The energetic and exergetic yields are calculated, as well as the minimum heat requirement estimated from a pinch analysis. All the results are then exploited to determine optimal conditions for two systems: adiabatic and isothermal