Biomass Gasification and Design of Gasification Island for Methanol Synthesis Plant

Abstract

This chapter describes the production of syngas for methanol synthesis through biomass thermochemical conversion. The focus of the chapter is on the biomass gasification process and design of gasification island for methanol production. Synthesis of methanol requires syngas with a certain composition of CO, CO2 and H2 gases. The correct syngas feed composition for the synthesis reactor is essential for the process’s high performance. Biomass gasification produces syngas enriched with CO and H2 gases. The gas composition is close to the required composition for the methanol synthesis and can be modified to match the requirements. The overall process design of a methanol synthesis plant depends on the selected gasification technology. This chapter describes the biomass gasification process and reviews biomass gasification processes suitable for methanol synthesis. Reactor measurement data from the gasification processes are used to evaluate the process design and its alternatives for the gasification island of the biomass-to-methanol process, when steam-oxygen blown gasification and dual fluidised bed steam gasification are utilised.