Catalytic Gasification of Sawdust Derived from Various Biomass

Abstract

A systematic study is conducted for the steam gasification of biomass materials (cellulose, Cedar, and Aspen) using temperature-programmed gasification (TPG) and constant-temperature gasification (CTG) methods in order to produce H2-rich gas. The performance of catalyst (CaO) was also studied by varying the catalyst loading from 0 to 8.9 wt % during TPG and CTG processes. The TPG and CTG experiments showed that the use of CaO as a catalyst reduced the maximum gasification temperature by ∼150 °C. Also, the rate of H2 and cumulative H2 productions were increased with the impregnation of CaO in cellulose, Cedar, and Aspen during TPG and CTG processes. In TPG, the rate of production of H2 was increased from 0.21 to 0.38 cm3 (STP)/min/(0.04 g of sample) when 5.5 wt % CaO was impregnated in cellulose. Higher CaO loading of 8.9 wt % did not improve H2 production. In CTG, the rate of H2 production and cumulative production of H2 increased from 0.18 to 0.31 cm3 (STP)/min and from 11 to 14 cm3 (STP)/(0.04 g of sample) when 5.5 wt % CaO was impregnated in cellulose. The rate of production and cumulative production of H2 from Cedar and Aspen were significantly higher than those from cellulose for catalytic as well as for noncatalytic TPG and CTG processes. Total fuel yield, H2, and carbon yields were also significantly increased with the impregnation of CaO in cellulose, Cedar, and Aspen.