Effect of the ash melting on heat and mass characteristics and reaction rate during corn stalk pellet gasification

In order to investigate the effect of ash melting on the gasification process of biomass pellet, a high-temperature visual gasification system was set up, meanwhile, a biomass melting gasification model for a single pellet was built. Considering that the fusion temperature range of ash is from 1418 K to 1558 K, 1396 K (below 1418 K), 1491 K (between 1418 K and 1558 K), 1591 K and 1677 K (above 1558 K) were chosen as the experimental temperatures. Results show that ash melting could absorb heat, thereby resisting the heat transfer inside pellet. When the gasification temperature is higher than 1558 K, as the larger spherical particles caused by ash melting and coalescing peels off from the pellet surface, the pellet covered by melting ash could be directly exposed to the environment, which is conducive to the heat and mass transfer.