Potential to retrofit existing small-scale gasifiers through steam gasification of biomass residues for hydrogen and biofuels production

Abstract

This work investigates the opportunity of retrofitting existing small-scale gasifiers shifting from combined heat and power (CHP) to hydrogen and biofuels production, using steam and biomass residues (woodchips, vineyard pruning and bark). The experiments were carried out in a batch reactor at 700 °C and 800 °C and at different steam flow (SF) rates (0.04 g/min and 0.20 g/min). The composition of the producer gas is in the range of 46–70 % H2, 9–29 % CO, 12–27 % CO2, and 2–6 % CH4. A producer gas specific production factor of approx. 10 NLpg/gchar can be achieved when the lower SFs are used, which allows to provide 80 % of the hydrogen concentration required for biomethanation and MeOH synthesis. As for FT synthesis, an optimal H2/CO ratio of approx. 2 can be achieved. The results of this work provide further evidence towards the feasibility of hydrogen and biofuels generation from residual biomass through steam gasification.