Auto-thermal reforming of biomass raw fuel gas to syngas in a novel reformer: Promotion of hot-electron

•A novel reformer with porous ceramic tube circled by electric wire was designed.•The temperature uniformities along diameter and axial direction were measured.•The auto-thermal reforming of model and real biomass fuel gas was performed.•The hot electron promoted biomass fuel gas elimination mechanism was proposed.

A novel reformer with porous ceramic oxygen distribution tube circled by electric wire for inspiring hot electron was designed for auto-thermal reforming of biomass raw fuel gas to produce syngas (H2 + CO). The temperature of auto-thermal reformer was nearly uniform due to the excellent performance of partial oxygenation reaction in the reformer with porous ceramic tube for oxygen partitioning. The hot-electron inspired by electric wire promoted the cracking of biomass tar to form radical species, which were converted effectively to syngas over nickel based catalyst. The hot-electron also played an essential role in decreasing coke deposition on the surface of nickel based catalyst, which prolonged the lifetime of the reforming catalyst.