Gasification of Woody Biomass

Abstract

Interest in biomass to produce heat, power, liquid fuels, hydrogen, and value-added chemicals with reduced greenhouse gas emissions is increasing worldwide. Gasification is becoming a promising technology for biomass utilization with a positive environmental impact. This review focuses specifically on woody biomass gasification and recent advances in the field. The physical properties, chemical structure, and composition of biomass greatly affect gasification performance, pretreatment, and handling. Primary and secondary catalysts are of key importance to improve the conversion and cracking of tars, and lime-enhanced gasification advantageously combines CO2 capture with gasification. These topics are covered here, including the reaction mechanisms and biomass characterization. Experimental research and industrial experience are investigated to elucidate concepts, processes, and characteristics of woody biomass gasification and to identify challenges.

Compositional and structural feedstock requirements of a liquid phase cellulose-to-naphtha process in a carbon- and hydrogen-neutral biorefinery context

“…Today, most H 2 is produced through steam-reforming of (shale) natural gas, while in light of a 100% renewability criterion, a non-fossil resource is required. Though economically sound on a short term to initiate biorefinery activities, the search for and the integration of other techniques such as biological hydrogen production, 107 photocatalytic splitting of water, [108][109][110][111] gasification of biomass, 112 aqueous-phase-reforming (APR) [113][114][115][116][117] and steam-reforming 118,119 of biomass derived gaseous products should be considered to offer more sustainable opportunities on the long term, but they are still in their infancy at the commercial scale. In addition to APR and steam-reforming, there might be a third and fourth option to recuperate additional hydrogen, which is particularly valid for the presented LPCtoN technology: steam or catalytic cracking of n-hexane to short olefins 27,28 and dehydrocyclisation of n-hexane (and the other cyclic C 6 alkanes) to benzene.…”

Size, shape and flow characterization of ground wood chip and ground wood pellet particles

“…Bridging of biomass particles in the feeding system of a gasifier is a common industrial issue [31,32].…”

Advances in Methanol Production and Utilization, with Particular Emphasis toward Hydrogen Generation via Membrane Reactor Technology

“…At first, coal or biomass react in a gasifier to be converted into gaseous products, consisting of biogas (mainly CH 4 and CO 2 ), syngas (H 2 , CO 2 , and CO), hydrogen, and alkaline gases [43]. The gasification process represents a well-known thermochemical technique, useful for converting solid biomass into gaseous mixtures by means of air/oxygen, steam, and flue gases, and it is normally carried out at 800–1000 °C [33,44].…”