Syngas production from air-steam gasification of biomass with natural catalysts

Biomass has a great potential for production of syngas and chemicals; however, it has stood in the shadow of natural gas (NG) and coal due to technical problems and issues such as tar formation. In this paper, syngas production from catalytic air–steam gasification of biomass in a fluidized bed was investigated. To enhance the yield of produced syngas and reduce its tar content by cracking, limestone, calcined dolomite, and olivine were used as catalyst. The maximum mole fraction of H2 was found to be 49.1 vol% at 1000 °C and a steam/biomass ratio (S/B) of 1.0 with dolomite present. Compared to olivine and dolomite, calcined dolomite was proved to be more effective for gas production and tar destruction. The results also showed that the particle size has a weak influence on gasifier performance, with only a slight decrease in tar content with decreasing biomass particle size. [Display omitted] •High quality gas can be obtained through catalytic gasification of biomass.•The dolomite was more successful for tar destruction compared with olivine.•The particle size has a weak influence on gasifier performance.