Recent advancements of CFD and heat transfer studies in pyrolysis: A review

Abstract

There is a pressing need to process the solid waste by using pyrolysis technology due to its uniqueness to produce various solid, liquid and gaseous products. However, further understanding of pyrolysis process is needed. Most importantly, the role of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in pyrolysis is to be thoroughly investigated. In recent times, there has been significant progress in the research works aligned with evaluating the role of CFD in biomass pyrolysis. Hence, the current review manuscript focusses the current state of the art in the application of CFD tools to multi-scale biomass pyrolysis systems. Modeling of fluid and heat transport in conventional pyrolysis reactors, microwave-assisted pyrolysis reactors, and solar-assisted pyrolysis reactors for the conversion of biomass have been critically analyzed. The theoretical basis and the practical applicability of the CFD models to efficiently emulate and predict the overall complexity of pyrolysis process for the multi-scale and multi-phase nature of biomass have been discussed. However, the validity and accuracy of the CFD models needs to be enhanced. In the future directions, the steps for expanding the applicability of these theoretical and computational models have been outlined. This review would provide detailed understanding of CFD role in pyrolysis process conducted in various reactor systems. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.