The numerical study of allothermal gasification of the peat by the focused light flow

An allothermal gasification of peat is one of the perspective ways for application of this fossil for energetics and chemical industry. The simple model of the process was applied for analysis of the peat conversion under the two-side heating by high-power light flow at the atmospheric pressure. The dynamics of fuel gasification under extremely strong heating has an essential difference from the usual combustion heat. Carbon oxidation goes with dominating production of CO that occurs mostly inside the border of lit surface. It was shown that intensive gasification starts when light intensity is higher than 60−100W∕cm2. The typical depth of the sample conversion was analyzed as well as spatial and temporal dynamics of the distributions of residual values of moisture and carbon inside the sample. The simulation results correlate well with earlier experimental data. Application of the focused light for fuel conversion allows making a syngas with high enough concentration of combustibles at the expense of solar light. [Display omitted] •Focused light can quickly heat up the fuel to thousands degrees.•Allothermal thermo-chemical conversion of the wet peat at atmospheric pressure.•Spatial dynamics of carbon oxidation inside the thin layer at high temperature.•Syngas production from the low-grade slowly renewable fuels.