Presentation Date: Feb 14, 2026
AGSA Abstract
The rising demand for cleaner fuels and sustainable waste management in developing economies has renewed interest in biomass-derived fuels such as dimethyl ether (DME). This work presents the process design and simulation of an integrated plant that converts sawdust, a widely available lignocellulosic waste, into DME via the indirect route. The proposed process includes biomass pretreatment by torrefaction, entrained-flow gasification to generate synthesis gas, multistage syngas cleaning, a water–gas shift (WGS) unit to adjust the H₂:CO ratio, methanol synthesis over a CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ (CZA) catalyst, and methanol dehydration to DME in a fixed-bed reactor packed with γ-Al₂O₃ as a solid acid catalyst. Emphasis is placed on the design of the H₂S removal system in the syngas cleaning section, as sulfur impurities critically affect downstream catalyst activity and overall plant reliability. The full process was modelled in Aspen Plus using the SR-Polar property method to capture the behaviour of polar gas mixtures and to perform detailed material and energy balances for key unit operations. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed configuration can achieve stable operation and high carbon utilization when converting sawdust-derived syngas to DME. Beyond offering a low-carbon substitute for LPG and diesel, the process provides a value-adding pathway for wood waste management. Overall, this study highlights the potential of sawdust-to-DME conversion as a viable process design for clean fuel production and greenhouse-gas mitigation in biomass-rich regions.
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