Enhancing biomass gasification: A comparative study of catalyst applications in updraft and modifiable-downdraft fixed bed reactors

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of different catalysts on biomass gasification. Therefore, red mud (RM) and Aluminum–Nickel alloy were used as catalysts with biomass mixture (BM) for the lab-scale gasification studies by using an updraft and a modifiable-downdraft fixed bed reactor. The maximum volumetric percentage of H2, ranging from 51% to 65%, was achieved at 900 °C in both gasifiers. Al–Ni catalyst significantly boosted H2 content, reaching 65% in the updraft gasifier at 900 °C with 0.05 L/min dry air. H2/CO ratio varied from 2 to 4 for BM, while catalyst use expanded the range to 1.6–7 with the Al–Ni catalyst demonstrating the most effective performance. In general, it was seen that RM increased the H2 component in the syngas between 1 and 7 vol% at 900 °C in updraft gasifier. In the modifiable-downdraft reactor, on the contrary, H2 concentration in the syngas decreased by 2–6% with the addition of RM.