Pyrolysis/gasification of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin for hydrogen production in the presence of various nickel-based catalysts

Abstract

Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin are the main components of biomass. This work presents research into the pyrolysis/gasification of all three main components of biomass, in order to evaluate and compare their hydrogen production and also understand their gasification processes. A fixed bed, two-stage reaction system has been used employing various nickel-based catalysts. Gas concentration (CO, H 2 , CO, CO 2 and CH 4 ) was analysed for the produced non-condensed gases. Oil byproducts were analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Various techniques such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) were applied to characterize the fresh or reacted catalysts. The experimental results show that the lignin sample generates the highest residue fraction (52.0 wt.%) among the three biomass components. When Ni-Zn-Al (1:1) catalyst was used in the gasification process, gas yield was increased from 62.4 to 68.2 wt.% for cellulose, and from 25.2 to 50.0 wt.% for the pyrolysis/gasification of lignin. Hydrogen production was increased from 7.0 to 18.7 (mmol g -1 sample) when the Ni-Zn-Al (1:1) catalyst was introduced in the pyrolysis/gasification of cellulose. Among the investigated catalysts, Ni-Ca-Al (1:1) was found to be the most effective for hydrogen production from cellulose pyrolysis/gasification.

Research on the Thermo-Physical Properties of Corncob Residues as Gasification Feedstock and Assessment for Characterization of Corncob Ash from Gasification

“…6(e)), accompanied by one releasing peak within the range of 350 to 400 °C. Wu et al (2013) suggested that the high H2 emission could be obtained from the pyrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose under 400 °C. After 400 °C, the H2 emission showed a decreasing tendency, indicating that the lignin pyrolysis after 400 °C could also produce H2.…”

“…In addition, the composition and content of the main biomass component can significantly affect the thermal decomposition during the biomass pyrolysis (Zhang et al 2016). Yang et al (2007) and Wu et al (2013) revealed the pyrolysis characteristics of the main biomass components, such as hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin for hydrogen production. Such research has shown that the pyrolysis behaviors of various biomasses are quite different, which can be mainly attributed to their chemical components.…”

Novel Ni–Mg–Al–Ca catalyst for enhanced hydrogen production for the pyrolysis–gasification of a biomass/plastic mixture

“…Our previous work showed 40.7 wt% of gas and 33.5 w% of char from wood biomass gasification in the absence of catalyst [26], therefore the conversion rate and gas yield were improved by polypropylene addition. It might be due to the decrease of biomass components (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) which are a cause for higher char production in the feedstock [5]. In contrast, gas yield was drastically increased in the presence of the 750-Ca0, catalyst resulting in 96.9 wt% yield.…”

“…Thermal processing has been applied to produce hydrogen from biomass [4][5][6] and waste plastics [7][8][9][10]. However, the yield of hydrogen from biomass is typically low, therefore, addition of plastics which have a high hydrogen content into the biomass feedstock would enhance the amount of hydrogen in the gaseous product stream.…”

Quick-scan estimating model of Higher Heating Value of oil palm empty fruit bunches based on ash from proximate analysis data

“…However, the concerns of (Mohamad, Zakaria & Sipaut, 2011) about the effects of this lignocellulosic waste on human and natural environments have prompted recycling initiatives. Thus, the waste is used for energy diversification process such as ethanol production (Piarpuzán, Quintero & Cardona, 2011), pyrolysis processes (Abdullah & Gerhauser, 2008;Chin & Bakar, 2009;Sukiran, Abdullah, Gerhauser & Sulaiman, 2010;Rozita et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2013;Burhennea et al, 2013), gasification processes (Lahijani & Alimuddin, 2011;Mohammed, Salmiaton, Wan, & Mohamad, 2012;Ogi et al, 2013) and applied technology to produce heat and power.…”