Biomass gasification as the first hot step in clean syngas production process – gas quality optimization and primary tar reduction measures in a 100 kW thermal input steam–oxygen blown CFB gasifier

Syngas production based on biomass gasification is an attractive, feasible alternative to fossil fuel feedstock for the production of transportation fuels. However, the product gas from biomass gasification must be cleaned and tailored to comply with strict syngas quality requirements, as it consists of a wide variety of major and minor components and impurities. The characterization of such species is important to determine downstream gas treatment steps, and to assess the efficiency of the gasification process. This paper gives an overview of the results obtained during experiments on steam–oxygen gasification of biomass using 100 kW maximal thermal input circulating fluidized bed gasifier (CFBG) that have been performed at Delft University of Technology during the CHRISGAS project. The unit is also equipped with a high-temperature ceramic gas filter and downstream reactors for upgrading of the gas. In the experiments biomass types of both woody and agricultural origin have been used. They were represented by clean wood, demolition wood, an energy crop species (miscanthus) and a true residue (Dutch straw), respectively. Moreover, different bed materials have been applied, namely quartz sand, treated and untreated olivine and magnesite. During the experiments extensive measurements of gas composition have been carried out throughout the integrated test rig. The gas characterization included major gas components as well as certain minor species and tar. The results show that with the use of magnesite as bed material, remarkable increases of hydrogen yield were attained, as compared to sand or olivine; up to a volume fraction of almost 40% (dry, nitrogen-free basis). Also the H2:CO ratio increased from values near or lower than 1 to 2.3–2.6. This is near the values needed, for e.g., Fischer–Tropsch diesel production, indicating a potential for simplification of the gas upgrading. Furthermore, by using magnesite tar content of the raw gas was reduced to values near 2 g m−3 (STP). Moreover, magnesite complied with the expectation to have a positive impact on agglomeration prevention for the agricultural fuels containing alkali and chlorine in the ash. The kind of olivine applied during the experiments did not yield the expected tar reduction; the measured tar concentration was even higher than when quartz sand was used as bed material. Finally kaolin proved to be an effective additive to counteract the agglomeration when fuels with high alkali content in the ash are gasified using bed material that is rich in silica, as it is the case with quartz sand and olivine. ⺠Gasification of woody and agricultural biomass was extensively tested in a steam-oxygen blown CFB gasifier. ⺠Stable operation was possible, even with agricultural fuels, provided the agglomeration is counteracted using kaolin. ⺠Operation with straw caused downstream problems due to KCl deposition. ⺠Combination of magnesite as bed material and miscanthus as fuel yielded highest hydrogen fraction and lowest amount of tar. ⺠The kind of olivine used in the experiments did not cause the expected reduction of the tar yield.