Steam gasification of biochars derived from pruned apple branch with various pyrolysis temperatures

Abstract

In this study, the gas production behavior from the steam gasification of the biochar derived from the pruned apple brunch was investigated using a fixed-bed reactor. The optimal biochar obtained at the pyrolysis temperature of 550 °C was gasified under different operating conditions for the hydrogen rich gas production. The experimental results indicated that high reaction temperature and high water flow rate were both beneficial to the hydrogen gas yield, but excess steam had a negative impact contrarily. Besides, the small size particles (0.5–1.0 mm) showed better performance in the hydrogen gas production at the low water flow rates (0.05–0.20 g/min); while the large size particles (1.0–2.8 mm) showed better performance at the high water flow rates (0.25–0.30 g/min). The suitable operating conditions for the gasification of the biochar were determined as the reaction temperature of 850 °C, water flow rate of 0.25 g/min, and particle size of 1.0–2.8 mm.