Steam gasification of pyrolysis char from spent mushroom substrate

Abstract

Steam gasification of char derived from spent mushroom substrate was carried out in thermobalance coupled with mass spectrometer, in the temperature range of 800–900 °C and the steam concentration from 10 to 50 vol%. Syngas production was influenced by temperature and steam concentration. The highest yield of H2 production (42.9 mol H2/kg) was achieved at temperature of 800 °C and steam concentration of 50 vol%. The composition of the generated gas was strongly influenced by the water-gas shift reaction. The grain model was used to describe the kinetics of gasification of the char and the calculated activation energy was equal to 99.0 kJ/mol. The low activation energy of the gasification process was caused by a high content of mineral compounds in the char. The obtained results indicate the potential for gasification of the spent mushroom substrate and found to be an initial and important stage in the development of the gasification process in mushroom production plants.