H2-rich gas production from wood biomass air-steam gasification over a multifunctional Ni1.5Ca4.0Mn1.0Ox catalyst derived from biomaterial

Abstract

Solid waste is a vexing and widespread issue, especially in urban and rural areas, where waste wood and eggshells generate significant pollution. Wood-based biomass features high-quality carbon neutral energy source properties, and discarded eggshells can be employed to develop a calcium-based multifunctional catalyst for wood gasification, thereby converting the waste into green hydrogen. In this work, an oxygen-rich vacancy (82.1%) Ni1.5Ca4.0Mn1.0Ox catalyst with a dual pore size nanostructure was derived from waste eggshell and demonstrated anti-coking, CO oxidation, CO2 fixation and high performance in H2-rich gas production during wood air-steam gasification. The mechanism for removing carbon deposition was based on the transfer of carbon species on Ni metal surfaces by using Mn and Ca substances. The behavior of wood non-catalytic gasification and catalytic gasification were quantitatively analyzed and compared on a time scale. Effects of temperature, duration time, and steam/biomass mass ratio were studied to determine the optimal gasification conditions. Catalytic gasification achieved an increase of 32.3% and 5.42 of H2 proportion and H2/CO as well as a decline of 8.51% of CO and 21.05% of CO2 contents when compared to non-catalytic air-steam gasification. This work might provide an innovative perspective on using waste to generate green hydrogen.