A mathematical model of biomass gasification kinetics in bubbling fluidized
beds has been developed. It is one-dimensional, as it is capable of predic
ting temperature and concentration gradients along the reactor axis, and co
nsiders two phases, a bubble and a dense phase. In addition to the reaction
kinetics in the dense phase, mass transfer between the two phases and a qu
antitative estimation of local bubble and particle properties are included
in the model. A theoretical optimization with respect to ER, pressure, bed
height and gas velocity has also been performed. Finally, a comparison with
experimental data from the literature was done, which showed a largely sat
isfactory agreement, though further validation is still required. (C) 2001
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