Hydrogen and syngas production from steam gasification of biomass using cement as catalyst

Biomass gasification is a promising technology to achieve high-quality syngas in the presence of one or more gasification agents. Nevertheless, operational problems associated with tar formation caused a major obstacle for further progress in biomass gasification. Tar can be minimized in producer gas by catalytic cracking. The purpose of this work was to study the air-steam gasification of pine sawdust with calcined cement as catalyst. The reactivity of calcined cement toward hydrogen production and tar elimination was evaluated. Results showed that catalytic gasification of biomass increased hydrogen concentration and also tar cracking. With cement as an additive in gasification bed, the highest hydrogen concentration (50.3 vol%) and lowest tar yield (0.49 g/Nm3) were achieved. With additional cement loading from 0 to 9 wt%, H2 content increased from 38.1 vol% to 50.3 vol%, while tar yield decreased from 6.92 g/Nm3 to 0.49 g/Nm3.