Pressurized gasification systems lend themselves to economical syngas
production and can also be more flexible in production turndown depending
on the reactor design. Typically this is the case for both a pressurized bubbling
and circulating fluidized bed reactor, while the flexibility of an atmospheric
fluidized bed reactor is typically limited to narrower pressure and production
ranges. In summary, both designs are well suited for pressurized syngas
production. Pressurized designs require more costly reactors, but the
downstream equipment (gas cleanup equipment, heat exchangers, synthesis
reactors, etc.) will consist of fewer and less expensive components.