Biomass utilization for hydrogen production

Renewable biomass and biomass-derived fuels could be readily gasified to produce a hydrogen-rich gas or hydrogen. Among the biomass energy conversion schemes gasification produces a product gas, which based on its properties could be used either to co-produce value-added byproducts or hydrogen. As a readily renewable fuel, biomass may become a significant component in the global sustainable energy mix as fossil fuel resources begin to deplete. In addition, biomass utilization can expedite mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration cycles and promote "green" industries with associated growth in rural economies. Hydrogen or hydrogen-rich gas produced from biomass could be readily used in most of the present natural gas or petroleum derived hydrogen energy conversion devices and also in advanced systems such as fuel cells. [1] For all hydrogen production processes, there is a need for significant improvement in plant efficiencies, for reduced capital costs and for better reliability and operating flexibility