Catalytic Gasification of Sawdust Derived from Various Biomass

A systematic study is conducted for the steam gasification of biomass materials (cellulose, Cedar, and Aspen) using temperature-programmed gasification (TPG) and constant-temperature gasification (CTG) methods in order to produce H 2 -rich gas. The performance of catalyst (CaO) was also studied by varying the catalyst loading from 0 to 8.9 wt % during TPG and CTG processes. The TPG and CTG experiments showed that the use of CaO as a catalyst reduced the maximum gasification temperature by ∼150 °C. Also, the rate of H 2 and cumulative H 2 productions were increased with the impregnation of CaO in cellulose, Cedar, and Aspen during TPG and CTG processes. In TPG, the rate of production of H 2 was increased from 0.21 to 0.38 cm 3 (STP)/min/(0.04 g of sample) when 5.5 wt % CaO was impregnated in cellulose. Higher CaO loading of 8.9 wt % did not improve H 2 production. In CTG, the rate of H 2 production and cumulative production of H 2 increased from 0.18 to 0.31 cm 3 (STP)/min and from 11 to 14 cm 3 (STP)/(0.04 g of sample) when 5.5 wt % CaO was impregnated in cellulose. The rate of production and cumulative production of H 2 from Cedar and Aspen were significantly higher than those from cellulose for catalytic as well as for noncatalytic TPG and CTG processes. Total fuel yield, H 2, and carbon yields were also significantly increased with the impregnation of CaO in cellulose, Cedar, and Aspen.