Syngas production from catalytic gasification of waste polyethylene: Influence of temperature on gas yield and composition

Abstract The catalytic steam gasification of waste polyethylene (PE) from municipal solid waste (MSW) to produce syngas (H 2  + CO) with NiO/γ-Al 2 O 3 as catalyst in a bench-scale downstream fixed bed reactor was investigated. The influence of the reactor temperature on the gas yield, gas composition, steam decomposition, low heating value (LHV), cold gas efficiency and carbon conversion efficiency was investigated at the temperature range of 700–900 °C, with a steam to waste polyethylene ratio of 1.33. Over the ranges of experimental conditions examined, NiO/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst revealed better catalytic performance as a view of increasing product gas yield and of decreasing char and liquid yields in the presence of steam. Higher temperature resulted in more H 2 and CO production, higher carbon conversion efficiency and product gas yield. The highest syngas (H 2  + CO) content of 64.35 mol%, the highest H 2 content of 36.98 mol%, and the highest CO content of 27.37 mol%, were achieved at the highest temperature level of 900 °C. Syngas produced with a H 2 /CO molar ratio in the range of 0.83–1.35, was highly desirable as feedstock for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis for the production of transportation fuels.

[1]  D. Świerczyński,et al.  Steam reforming of tar from a biomass gasification process over Ni/olivine catalyst using toluene as a model compound , 2007 .

[2]  Stefania Casu,et al.  Steam gasification of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) : Influence of process temperature on yield and product composition , 2006 .

[3]  Tharapong Vitidsant,et al.  Promotional Effects of Al2O3 Addition to Co/SiO2 Catalysts for Fischer−Tropsch Synthesis , 2006 .

[4]  N. Morlanés,et al.  Synthesis, characterization and catalytic behaviour of NiMgAl mixed oxides as catalysts for hydrogen production by naphtha steam reforming , 2008 .

[5]  C. M. Kinoshita,et al.  An experimental investigation of hydrogen production from biomass gasification , 1998 .

[6]  Jie Chang,et al.  Hydrogen-Rich Gas Production from Biomass Catalytic Gasification , 2004 .

[7]  A. K. Dalai,et al.  Production of hydrogen and/or syngas (H2 + CO) via steam gasification of biomass-derived chars , 2003 .

[8]  Bo Xiao,et al.  Development of nano-niO/Al2O3 catalyst to be used for tar removal in biomass gasification. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[9]  N. Abatzoglou,et al.  Thermal and catalytic dry reforming and cracking of ethanol for hydrogen and carbon nanofilaments' production , 2008 .

[10]  Jens R. Rostrup-Nielsen,et al.  Hydrogen and Synthesis gas by Steam- and CO2 reforming , 2002 .

[11]  Zhiquan Hu,et al.  Hydrogen-rich gas from catalytic steam gasification of biomass in a fixed bed reactor: Influence of particle size on gasification performance , 2009 .

[12]  G. Lopez,et al.  Product distribution modelling in the thermal pyrolysis of high density polyethylene. , 2007, Journal of hazardous materials.

[13]  Y. Uemichi,et al.  Product distribution from catalytic degradation of polyethylene over H-gallosilicate , 2000 .

[14]  Fan Yang,et al.  Hydrogen-rich gas from catalytic steam gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW): Influence of catalyst and temperature on yield and product composition , 2009 .

[15]  Bo Xiao,et al.  Preparation of Nano-NiO Particles and Evaluation of Their Catalytic Activity in Pyrolyzing Biomass Components† , 2008 .

[16]  S. Hamel,et al.  Hydrogen energy from coupled waste gasification and cement production—a thermochemical concept study , 2006 .

[17]  B. Xiao,et al.  Gasification characteristics of biomass micron fuel (BMF): study on steam gasification for hydrogen-rich gas production. , 2008 .

[18]  María L. Salvador,et al.  Catalytic Steam Gasification of Pine Sawdust. Effect of Catalyst Weight/Biomass Flow Rate and Steam/Biomass Ratios on Gas Production and Composition , 1999 .

[19]  J. F. Mastral,et al.  Theoretical prediction of product distribution of the pyrolysis of high density polyethylene , 2007 .