A review of the thermochemistries of biomass gasification and utilisation of gas products

Abstract

Conventional biomass gasification involves a complex set of chemical reactions leading to the production of a gas mainly composed on carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and some methane. Some C2–C5+ hydrocarbon gases are also formed in the gasifier. This review has uniquely focused on the thermochemistries of conventional biomass gasification with emphasis on gasification temperature, gasifying agents (pure oxygen, air, carbon dioxide, steam or combinations of these) and the types of gasifiers as the key parameters that determine the yields and compositions of gas products. With air as the gasifying agent, the product gas is highly diluted with nitrogen (>45 vol%) and is known as producer gas, which is often more suitable for direct energy application via combustion. With nitrogen-free gasifying agents, syngas with ≤5 vol% nitrogen content is produced and therefore suitable for various downstream uses including enhanced hydrogen production via the water–gas shift reaction and, especially, the synthesis of organic compounds such as methanol and dimethyl ether as well as hydrocarbons (liquids and waxes via Fischer–Tropsch synthesis). The contributions of kinetic and thermodynamic studies to the understanding and progress of biomass gasification have been explored. In addition, the review covers the challenges of tar formation during biomass gasification and various strategies to reduce/eliminate this major bottleneck via catalysis and reactor design or configuration. The historical perspective of biomass gasification and current trends are presented, highlighting the exponential growth in high-quality research publications around biomass gasification over the last decade, possibly driven by current Net Zero initiatives.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d3se00365e
Divisions: College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > School of Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering > Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI)
Aston University (General)
Additional Information: Funding Information: The authors would like to thank their respective research institutes and departments for all the support received during the preparation of this review article. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Publication ISSN: 2398-4902
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2024 09:02
Date Deposited: 27 Jun 2023 13:07
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://pubs.rs ... 3/SE/D3SE00365E (Publisher URL)
http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2023-06-27
Published Online Date: 2023-06-27
Accepted Date: 2023-06-03
Authors: Alves, Carine t.
Onwudili, Jude A. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-5355-9970)
Ghorbannezhad, Payam
Kumagai, Shogo

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