Hydrogen production via catalytic pyrolysis of biomass in a two-stage fixed bed reactor system

•The effects of two-stage temperature, reaction time and catalyst were studied.•The effect of the nickel content in the catalyst on the pyrolysis gas was evaluated.•The comparison of two-stage pyrolysis results was performed.•The favorable reaction condition of catalytic pyrolysis is investigated.

This study introduces an innovative process of generating hydrogen-rich gas from biomass through the catalytic pyrolysis of biomass in a two-stage fixed bed reactor system. Water hyacinth was used as the biomass feedstock. The effects of various factors such as pyrolysis temperature, catalytic bed temperature, residence time, catalyst, and the nickel content of the catalyst on the pyrolysis productivity were investigated and the yields of H2, CO, CH4, and CO2 were obtained. Results showed that the high productivity of hydrogen can be obtained particularly by increasing the catalytic bed temperature, residence time, and catalysts. The favorable reaction conditions are as follows: a first-stage pyrolysis temperature of 650 °C–700 °C, a second-stage catalytic bed temperature of 800 °C, a catalytic pyrolysis reaction time of 17 min, and a nickel content of 9% (wt %).