In the bioenergy sector, concepts such as oxycombustion of biomass for nearly zero-net emissions 4, pressurized anaerobic digestion and biogas upgrading 5, and techno-economic assessment of biomass-based chemical production 6 have been investigated using Aspen Plus. Also, a variety of process concepts can be designed including extensive heat exchangers and auxiliary components as well as the possibility of linkage with specialized software tools and techno-economic analysis. The main advantage of Aspen Plus is the high flexibility regarding different process configurations, which allows to optimize varying operational conditions and determine limitations of processes subject to these conditions. ChemCAD, Matlab, Aspen Plus as well as computational fluid dynamics including GAMBIT, FLUENT, and OPENFOAM are some of these common modeling software packages 3. Several process simulation tools have been employed lately to model, optimize, and simulate complicated processes such as biomass gasification. Also, computational tools are effective to determine process limitations and hazardous or undesirable operational conditions 2. Simulating the gasification process based on available experimental data on pilot or industrial scale can support process optimization and contribute to improved plant design.
However, experimental optimization of the process for a certain feedstock is not only time-consuming but also expensive. Many parameters such as the feedstock type, gasifier configuration, gasification agent, temperature, and pressure can affect the operational performance and the syngas quality 1. Gasification is a complex process in which chemical reactions as well as heat and mass transfer mechanisms take place.
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