Potential of hydrogen production in in-situ catalytic adsorption gasification system

The demand for sustainable process is increasing to support the commitment to reduce pollutant gases in the atmosphere. Current gasoline and gas production from fossil fuels are not sustainable since these sources are non-renewable and the combustion of these fuels will lead to the emissions of pollutant gases. Various alternatives of renewable energies and technologies have emerged to counteract the alarming global warming problem and also the scarcity of our primary sources of energy. One of these alternatives is through the production of renewable fuels from agricultural sources such as hydrogen (H2) from biomass. This paper highlights the conversion of biomass to H2 via catalytic gasification process. Twelve types of biomass have been characterized and pre-treated. Palm kernel shell (PKS) is found to be the most suitable biomass for the gasification process. In addition the research also covers the development of catalyst to effectively elevate the H2 production and reduces tar formation. The catalytic activity of the monometallic and bimetallic catalysts has been performed in a high-throughput micro reactor (HTMR) system. It is found that both monometallic and bimetallic catalysts show favourable performances to produce H2 in a range of 68-70 vol% via steam gasification of PKS. The pilot biomass gasifier system consists of a fluidized bed gasifier, a biomass feeding systems, gas cleaning unit that consists of a high temperature micro filter, guard bed reactor and tar cracker to remove dust and reduce tar, sulfur and metals content. The highest H2 composition achieved is 82.1 vol %. Based on the results, palm kernel shell can be a valuable feedstock for H2 production via catalytic steam gasification