Effects of electric current upon catalytic steam reforming of biomass gasification tar model compounds to syngas

Abstract Electrochemical catalytic reforming (ECR) technique, known as electric current enhanced catalytic reforming technique, was proposed to convert the biomass gasification tar into syngas. In this study, Ni–CeO 2 /γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst was prepared, and toluene was employed as the major feedstock for ECR experiments using a fixed-bed lab-scale setup where thermal electrons could be generated and provided to the catalyst. Several factors, including the electric current intensity, reaction temperature and steam/carbon (S/C) ratio, were investigated to reveal their effects on the conversion of toluene as well as the composition of the gas products. Moreover, toluene, two other tar model compounds (benzene and 1-methylnaphthalene) and real tar (tar-containing wastewater) were subjected to the long period catalytic stability tests. All the used catalysts were analyzed to determine their carbon contents. The results indicated that the presence of electric current enhanced the catalytic performance remarkably. The toluene conversion reached 99.9% under the electric current of 4 A, catalytic temperature of 800 °C and S/C ratio of 3. Stable conversion performances of benzene, 1-methylnaphthalene and tar-containing wastewater were also observed in the ECR process. H 2 and CO were the major gas products, while CO 2 and CH 4 were the minor ones. Due to the promising capability, the ECR technique deserves further investigation and application for efficient tar conversion.

[1]  Xun Hu,et al.  Investigation of steam reforming of acetic acid to hydrogen over Ni–Co metal catalyst , 2007 .

[2]  Cristina Costa,et al.  The steam reforming of phenol reaction over supported-Rh catalysts , 2004 .

[3]  C. H. Bartholomew.  Chemistry of nickel-alumina catalysts , 1976 .

[4]  Daniel Montané,et al.  Steam reforming model compounds of biomass gasification tars: conversion at different operating conditions and tendency towards coke formation , 2001 .

[5]  Thanh D. B. Nguyen,et al.  Three-stage steady-state model for biomass gasification in a dual circulating fluidized-bed , 2012 .

[6]  Dalin Li,et al.  Catalytic performance of manganese-promoted nickel catalysts for the steam reforming of tar from biomass pyrolysis to synthesis gas , 2013 .

[7]  K. Tomishige,et al.  Development of Ni-Based Catalysts for Steam Reforming of Tar Derived from Biomass Pyrolysis , 2012 .

[8]  Linghong Zhang,et al.  Overview of recent advances in thermo-chemical conversion of biomass. , 2010 .

[9]  Lixia Yuan,et al.  Electrochemical catalytic reforming of oxygenated-organic compounds: a highly efficient method for production of hydrogen from bio-oil. , 2008, Chemical communications.

[10]  Ronghou Liu,et al.  Influence of particle size on performance of a pilot-scale fixed-bed gasification system. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[11]  Yue Pan,et al.  Production of hydrogen from catalytic steam reforming of bio-oil using C12A7-O--based catalysts , 2007 .

[12]  Songbai Qiu,et al.  Effects of current upon hydrogen production from electrochemical catalytic reforming of acetic acid , 2009 .

[13]  P. U. Foscolo,et al.  Catalytic gasification of biomass to produce hydrogen rich gas , 1998 .

[14]  Lixia Yuan,et al.  High Efficient Production of Hydrogen from Bio-oil Using Low-temperature Electrochemical Catalytic Reforming Approach Over NiCuZn–Al2O3 Catalyst , 2009 .

[15]  Mohammad Asadullah,et al.  A comparison of Rh/CeO2/SiO2 catalysts with steam reforming catalysts, dolomite and inert materials as bed materials in low throughput fluidized bed gasification systems. , 2004 .

[16]  Jia-Hong Kuo,et al.  Catalytic upgrading of syngas from fluidized bed air gasification of sawdust. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[17]  R. Moghadam,et al.  Investigation on syngas production via biomass conversion through the integration of pyrolysis and air–steam gasification processes , 2014 .

[18]  Erik Dahlquist,et al.  Catalytic steam reforming of toluene as a model compound of biomass gasification tar using Ni-CeO2/SBA-15 catalysts. , 2013 .

[19]  Changhou Liu,et al.  A novel process of biomass gasification for hydrogen-rich gas with solid heat carrier : Preliminary experimental results , 2006 .

[20]  A. Krause,et al.  Steam Reforming of Gasification Gas Tar over Dolomite with Benzene as a Model Compound , 1999 .

[21]  L. Schmidt,et al.  Steam Reforming of Benzene As a Model for Biomass-Derived Syngas Tars over Rh-Based Catalysts , 2010 .

[22]  Larry G. Felix,et al.  Olivine catalysts for methane- and tar-steam reforming , 2008 .

[23]  Xun Hu,et al.  Syngas production by CO2 reforming of ethanol over Ni/Al2O3 catalyst , 2009 .

[24]  Quanxin Li,et al.  High efficient production of hydrogen from crude bio-oil via an integrative process between gasification and current-enhanced catalytic steam reforming , 2010 .

[25]  Xionggang Lu,et al.  Catalytic conversion of tar from hot coke oven gas using 1-methylnaphthalene as a tar model compound , 2010 .

[26]  Eddie G. Baker,et al.  Environmental design considerations for thermochemical biomass energy , 1986 .

[27]  Gérald Djéga-Mariadassou,et al.  Steam reforming of model gasification tars compounds on nickel based ceria-zirconia catalysts , 2011 .

[28]  Daniel Duprez,et al.  Selective steam reforming of aromatic compounds on metal catalysts , 1992 .

[29]  Zhenhong Yuan,et al.  Bio-syngas production from biomass catalytic gasification , 2007 .

[30]  Jiango Li,et al.  Mechanistic features for hydroxyl anion emission from the modified 12CaO.7Al2O3 surface. , 2005, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[31]  José M. Encinar,et al.  Reduction of tars by dolomite cracking during two-stage gasification of olive cake , 2011 .

[32]  Jiango Li,et al.  Features and mechanism of H- anion emission from 12 CaO x 7 Al2O3 surface. , 2005, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[33]  C. Courson,et al.  Toluene steam reforming as tar model molecule produced during biomass gasification with an iron/olivine catalyst , 2010 .