Challenges and opportunities in the Eulerian approach to numerical simulations of fixed-bed combustion of biomass

Paper in proceeding, 2015

Fixed-bed combustion is a commonly employed technique for commercial production of heat and power from biomass and waste. In this work, the modeling challenges and opportunities within the Eulerian (averaged) approach to simulations of fixed-bed combustion systems are investigated in relation to the challenges faced within the biomass combustion area today. It is shown how the particle models for use with the Eulerian approach to numerical simulations of fixed-bed combustion should be constructed to make possible accurate predictions of the volatile release, particle heat transfer and ash slagging phenomena. A number of numerical challenges related to the accuracy and efficiency of Eulerian models for fixed-bed conversion are also identified and possible strategies to remedy them are proposed.