Biomass-derived hydrogen from an air-blown gasifier

The goal of this research is to produce high concentrations of hydrogen from gasification of biomass. Air-blown gasification of biomass in fluidized bed reactors produces relatively low concentrations of hydrogen (about 8 vol.%). Steam reforming of tars and light hydrocarbons and reacting steam with carbon monoxide via the water-gas shift reaction can increase hydrogen content in the producer gas to almost 30 vol.%. In these experiments, the temperature, space velocity, and steam/gas ratio were varied to determine the effect of these variables on hydrogen production. Characterization of the catalysts by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and BET analysis was also performed. These analyses showed that coke and small quantities of sulfur and chlorine deposited on the catalysts, although catalytic deactivation was not evident during the tests.