Enhanced hydrogen production using steam plasma processing of biomass: Experimental apparatus and procedure

A two-stage high-temperature steam plasma system is analyzed experimentally for the production of high-hydrogen content product gas obtained from biomass. The first stage uses contact glow discharge electrolysis (CGDE) to convert an electrolyte into a steam, mainly composed of steam and a small fraction of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The second stage uses the output stream from the first stage as the gasifying agent to produce a steam plasma to gasify the biomass. Measurements show molar fractions of hydrogen in the product gases in excess of 50% for six different types of biomass tested. The experimental results are also used to validate a thermodynamic model of the combined process. The model is used to analyze the effect of feedstock mass flow rate on product gas quality.