Gasification of RDF and Its Components with Tire Pyrolysis Char as Tar-Cracking Catalyst

Abstract

The composition of gas produced by the gasification of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) can be affected by the content of individual components of RDF and their mutual interactions. In this work, plastics, paper, wood, textile and RDF were gasified in a two-stage gasification system and the obtained tar yields and product gas quality were compared. The two-stage reactor consisted of an air-blown gasifier and a catalytic reactor filled with carbonized tire pyrolysis char as the tar-cracking catalyst. Tire pyrolysis char is a promising alternative to expensive catalysts. The impact of temperature and catalyst amount on the tar yield and gas composition was investigated. Theoretical oxygen demand for all material classes was calculated and its effect on gas composition and tar yield is discussed. The results indicate that the gasification of plastics produces the highest amount of tar and hydrocarbon gases, while the CO2 content of the product gas remains the lowest compared to all other materials. On the other hand, the paper fraction produced hydrogen-rich gas with low tar content. The gasification of RDF at 700 °C provided the lowest tar yield compared to all other materials, indicating positive synergic effects of lignocellulosic biomass and plastics in tar reduction. The significance of these interactions was suppressed at the highest temperature of 900 °C, as the thermal cracking of tar became dominant. For CO2 content, a negative synergic effect (higher CO2 concentration) was observed.

Hydrogen-rich gas production from disposable COVID-19 mask by steam gasification

“…While high temperatures lead to thermal cracking of tars, low temperatures have previously been observed to cause repolymerization and oxygenation of hydrocarbon compounds, increasing the tar content of the product gas. Similarly, the increase in tar content after the condenser can be attributed to the formation of oxygenated compounds [45] . The following GC-MS analysis was performed to investigate relative percentages of tar components.…”

Decomposition of biomass gasification tar model compounds over waste tire pyrolysis char

“…Tire char activated at a temperature of 900 °C and with the highest specific surface area (46.5 m 2 g −1 ) exhibited the highest toluene conversion with 92% compared to char with a surface area of 43.4 m 2 g −1 , which achieved a conversion of 89%. Suhaj et al [32] studied the use of tire pyrolysis char as a tar cracking catalyst during the gasification of refuse derived fuel, and the results showed that using the catalyst resulted in an increase in H 2 concentration due to the reduction of tar. Char catalytic activity can be enhanced by impregnation with metals.…”

A review of the thermochemistries of biomass gasification and utilisation of gas products

“…This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2023 Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2023, 7, 3505-3540 | 3523 the formation of tar during biomass gasication, 153 leading to improved H 2 and H 2 /CO yields. 154,155 Solving the tar problem during biomass gasication would lead to enhanced biomass conversion to gas and improved syngas quality. As already discussed in Section 2, signicant tar reduction can already be achieved through innovative gasier designs and operations.…”