Control System of a Pilot Scale Dual Bubbling Fluidized Bed Gasifier Using PC-Based Equipment

The monitoring and control of hazardous chemical processes is performed using networks of transducers and actuators. The industrial standard for control systems is the employment of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), thanks to the proven and standardized features that these devices offer. Research on laboratory and prototypal scale plants has shown that maintaining a good flexibility and reconfigurability level of the control environment is often needed, hence PC-based control systems are often chosen. This work presents the development of the control system for a 100 kWth Dual Bubbling Fluidized Bed (DBFB) gasifier at pilot scale in the context of the 'Advanced Integration for Renewable Energies' (AIRE) project. The implemented system is aimed at offering flexibility and modularity for a continuously evolving plant scenario. This paper reports the system architecture, the technical solutions that have been deployed, and some experimental results on gasification of biomass obtained using the plant. Among the aims of this paper is the objective sharing of the hands-on experience obtained in the employment of modular acquisition and analysis instruments.