Modelling of the Pyrolysis Zone of a Downdraft Gasification Reactor

The increasing amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a growing challenge that current waste-treatment practices are having to face. Therefore, technologies that can prevent waste from ending up in landfill sites have come to the fore. One of the technologies that produces a valuable product from waste, namely synthesis gas, is gasification. The raw material of this technology is the so-called Refuse-Derived Fuel, which is made from MSW. Three separate zones are located in downdraft gasification reactors: the pyrolysis, oxidation and reduction zones. This work is concerned with the determination of kinetic parameters in the pyrolysis zone. It also discusses the estimation of the product composition of this zone, which defines the raw material of the following zone.