Syngas production in a 1.5 kWth biomass chemical looping gasification unit using Fe and Mn ores as the oxygen carrier

12 figures.-- This article is part of the 2021 Pioneers in Energy Research: Javier Bilbao special issue.Biomass chemical looping gasification (BCLG) uses lattice oxygen from an oxygen carrier instead of gaseous oxygen for high-quality syngas production without CO2 emissions. In this work, the effect of the main operating variables, such as oxygen/biomass ratio (λ), gasification temperature, and steam/biomass ratio (S/B), was investigated using two low-cost materials: a Fe ore and a Mn ore. Oxygen fed to the air reactor for oxidation was used as an effective method for controlling the amount of lattice oxygen used for syngas production. The main variable that affected the process performance and the syngas quality was λ, while the fuel reactor temperature and the S/B ratio had a minor effect. Small performance differences found between the ores can be attributed to different degrees of CH4 and light hydrocarbons reforming in the process. The CO2 content in the syngas was high (40 −43%) under autothermal conditions because the gasification reactions required the heat to be generated by combustion. CH4 contents of around 10% were found in syngas, coming from the unburned or unreformed volatiles. Syngas yields around 0.60 Nm3/kg of dry biomass were found for both ores. Additionally, high biomass conversions (Xb > 94%) and carbon conversion efficiencies (ηcc > 95%) were obtained in all cases, showing the capability of the process of avoiding CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. No agglomeration was found in the bed during the BCLG process, although attrition rates were high, leading to lifetimes of 160 and 300 h for the manganese and iron ores, respectively. Migration of Fe or Mn to the external part of the particle, generating a metal concentrated shell, was observed. Its detachment was responsible for the decrease in the oxygen transport capacity (ROC) of the material with the operating time and the reduced lifetime. The results obtained here allowed the iron ore to be considered as an oxygen carrier suitable for the BCLG process.This work has been supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme under grant Agreement 817841 [Chemical Looping Gasification for Sustainable Production of Biofuels (CLARA)] and the AEI/FEDER, UE (ENE2017-89473R).Peer reviewe