Efficient gasification of wet biomass residue to produce middle caloric gas

Abstract Various process residues represent a kind of biomass resource already concentrated but containing water as much as 60 wt.%. These materials are generally treated as waste or simply combusted directly to generate heat. Recently, we attempted to convert them into middle caloric gas to substitute for natural gas, as a chemical or a high-rank gaseous fuel for advanced combustion utilities. Such conversion is implemented through dual fluidized bed gasification (DFBG). Concerning the high water content of the fuels, DFBG was suggested to accomplish either with high-efficiency fuel drying in advance or direct decoupling of fuel drying/pyrolysis from char gasification and tar/hydrocarbon reforming. Along with fuel drying, calcium-based catalyst can be impregnated into the fuel, without much additional cost, to increase the fuel's gasification reactivity and to reduce tar formation. This article reports the Ca impregnation method and its resulting effects on gasification reactivity and tar suppression ability. Meanwhile, the principle of directly gasifying wet fuel with decoupled dual fluidized bed gasification (D-DFBG) is also highlighted.