Title : Sorption Enhanced Water Gas Shift (SEWGS) process during biomass gasification
Abstract:
The research activity carried out responds to the need to find sustainable alternative energy sources. Gasification is a thermochemical energy conversion technique of biomass that allows to obtain a syngas, which can be stored or directly used as a fuel. In this work a prototypal fluidized bed gasification (FBG) plant (1.5 kW) was used to thermochemically convert a waste biomass (hazelnut shells) in an H2-rich syngas thanks to the Sorption Enhanced Water Gas Shift (SEWGS) reaction. SEWGS is an exothermic reversible chemical reaction that combines the Water Gas Shift reaction for the production of H2 with an adsorption reaction of unwanted products (CO2). The use of an appropriate catalyst (e.g. nickel, iron and chromium oxides, etc.) and water vapor in the syngas allows the water shift (WGS) reaction to take place. The reaction typically occurs at temperatures between 200-400, and the use of an adsorbent material allows to subtract CO2, pushing the equilibrium of the reaction towards the products and increasing the yield of H2, in accordance with the principle of Le Chatelier. In particular, using a post reactor, at relatively low temperatures (200 system C) and an adsorbent/catalyst material, a syngas with 13.97% H2 was passed to a syngas with 22.93% H2.
Audience Take Away:
The proposed work is mainly informative and shows how it can also produce a "small" gasification plant that allows the disposal of residual biomass in small farms (plant consumption of about 1.5 kg/h). It also shows how the proposed gasification system can be easily interfaced with a post-reactor that optimizes the production of H2. The proposed H2 optimization and production work is particularly useful for those involved in:
• Disposal of biomass
• Altrenative energy
• Circular Economy
• Biohydrogen
