Millisecond Reforming of Solid Biomass for Sustainable Fuels

Breaking the coke habit: By coupling thermal decomposition with catalytic partial oxidation, an effective method has been developed to convert solid biomass such as cellulose into synthesis gas (see photo of a hot Rh catalyst surface). Not only is the process fast (<70 ms), it also avoids the formation of coke, which is known to deactivate catalyst surface sites and block surface reactions.