Effect of biomass fuel ash and bed material on the product gas composition in DFB steam gasification

Abstract Gasification is a thermochemical process that transforms carbonaceous matter into a gaseous secondary energy carrier, referred to as product gas. This product gas can be used for heat and power generation but also for syntheses. One possible gasification technology suitable for further synthesis is dual fluidised bed (DFB) steam gasification. The H2:CO ratio, which determines the suitability of the product gas for further synthesis, is influenced by the catalytic activity inside the gasification reactor. Eleven DFB steam gasification experiments were performed comparing the catalytic activity for various bed material and fuel combinations. The bed materials used were K-feldspar, fresh and layered olivine, and limestone, and the fuels gasified were softwood, chicken manure, a bark–chicken manure mixture and a bark-straw-chicken manure mixture. The water-gas-shift (WGS) equilibrium deviation was used to evaluate the catalytic activity inside the gasification reactor. It was shown that both the fuel ash and bed material have an effect on the catalytic activity during gasification. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry showed the initial layer formation for experiments with ash-rich fuels. Isolated WGS experiments were performed to further highlight the influence of bed material, fuel ash and fuel ash layers on the WGS equilibrium.