Catalytic Decomposition of Biomass Tars

摘要

Catalytic gasification of wood (Cedar) biomass was carried out using a flow-type reactor in a two step process: Temperature programmed non-catalytic steam gasification of biomass was performed in the first (top) bed at 200 to 850 °C followed by catalytic gasification of tar (and volatile matters) in the second (bottom) bed at a constant temperature, mainly 600 ℃. About 70-80% of the tar was gasified by the use of iron oxide catalyst. Iron oxide catalyst also affected the composition of the gaseous product of biomass gasification: Compared to the non-catalytic gasification, the production of H_2 and CO_2 increased, while the production of CO decreased in the presence of iron oxide catalyst which catalyzed the water-gas-shift reaction in addition to the steam reforming of the tar fraction.