Peter Ciesielski, NREL, CO, USA
Pyrolysis is a pre-commercial thermochemical process that converts renewable, plant-based materials such as wood into liquid biofuels. To make pyrolysis a cost-effective method for biofuel conversion, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are using multiphysics simulation to better understand and optimize the process. Thus far, they have used COMSOL Multiphysics® to develop a computational model of the heat and mass transfer processes associated with pyrolysis, featuring the most accurate representation of biomass particle geometry to date. Ongoing development of the process involves adding chemical reactions and phase change to create a complete model of pyrolysis that can be used to improve the performance of large-scale reactors – an essential step in making the mass production of biofuels more efficient.
Suggested Stories
Simulation Helps Improve Atmosphere Revitalization Systems for Manned Spacecraft
To ensure astronaut safety on space missions, it is necessary to routinely revitalize the atmosphere in manned ...
Multiphysics Analysis of a Burning Candle
Using COMSOL Multiphysics, AltaSim Technologies were able to predict the temperature distribution and flow pattern of ...
A New Route to High Sensitivity Pressure Sensors
The environments in which sensors are most integral are often the most harsh and unforgiving, such as vacuum chambers, ...
On the Cutting Edge of Hearing Aid Research
Nearly 20% of the United States population has some degree of hearing impairment. Despite the relative ...
