Hydrogen production from tea waste

• Gasification reactions of tea waste were performed in an updraft gasifier.
• H2 content of the product mixture was improved.
• Suitable gasification reaction conditions were determined.

Hydrogen production from biomass is gaining more attention due to the depletion of fossil fuel sources. Tea waste as an agricultural waste is a promising feedstock in order to obtain hydrogen-rich gas via gasification.In this study, tea waste was gasified at 450, 650, 850 °C and 1 atm in an updraft gasifier using K2CO3 and air as catalyst and gasification agent, respectively. Effect of catalyst ratio (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 wt.%) (catalyst/biomass), temperature (450, 650 and 850 °C) and reaction time (10, 15, 20 min) on product gas distribution was investigated. Composition of gas product was determined by micro gas chromatography system. Suitable gasification conditions were determined as 20% catalyst, 850 °C temperature and 15 min reaction time.