Biomass and coal co-utilization for cleaner power and green hydrogen

Project description

The Government of India has mandated that thermal power plants need to blend at least 5% of agricultural waste biomass along with coal for power production. Concurrently, boilers and gasifiers working on pure biomass are also being encouraged to reduce the problem of open biomass burning and instead utilize the same for cleaner power or green hydrogen via gasification.
Accordingly, this project involves experimentation and simulations to optimize the performance of boilers and gasifiers operating on pure biomass and blends of biomass with coal. The simulations will be conducted on OpenFOAM platform to study the multiphysics problem of two-phase turbulent combustion involving pulverized feedstock. Hence, the project will train the PhD scholar in appreciating and utilizing the coupled interactions between the fundamental disciplines of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer and combustion for a very practical application. The scholar will be expected to work on existing OpenFOAM code as well as to improve upon it to capture all the relevant thermofluid phenomena involved.
Experiments will include determining the physico-chemical properties and combustion/gasification/pyrolysis kinetics of various types of agricultural waste biomass and their blends with coal. The information obtained from the experiments will be used in the numerical simulations.
Visits to local industrial biomass boiler and gasifier sites will also be planned so that the PhD scholar appreciates the actual challenges impacting this industry and develops practical solutions accordingly.

Outcomes

1. Optimal blend of coal and biomass as well as suggested modifications
in reactor design for efficient boiler and/or gasifier operation, via numerical simulations
2. Physico-chemical properties and combustion, gasification,
devolatilization kinetics of coal and torrefied biomass blends, via experimentation

Essential capabilities

Deep interest in core mechanical engineering areas of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and heat transfer

Desireable capabilities

Experience in coding and Computational Fluid Dynamics. Basic understanding of combustion.

Expected qualifications (Course/Degrees etc.)

BTech/BE or MTech degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering