Steam reforming and gasification of pyrolysis oil: Reactor and process development for syngas production from biomass

Mankind needs sustainable energy to adjust its footprint so the earth can support a growing and economically developing population. Biomass is a special sustainable energy source since, besides heat and power, it can also be used for the production of chemicals and liquid transportation fuels. To convert relatively dry biomass (waste) streams, pyrolysis of biomass is proposed as an intermediate step to create a ‘renewable crude oil’ (called pyrolysis oil) for refining. To do this, technology for making fossil fuels has to be adapted to biomass feedstocks since its chemical composition is essentially different from its fossil counterparts. The research described in this Thesis deals with steam reforming and gasification of pyrolysis oil to produce syngas/hydrogen. By producing syngas and/or hydrogen, biomass can be linked to the existing fossil based petrochemical industry and can serve as a source of hydrogen for a rapidly growing market. The thesis contains the following Chapters and Appendixes: - Introduction - Catalytic and Noncatalytic Gasification of Pyrolysis Oil - Staged Catalytic Gasification / Steam Reforming of Pyrolysis Oil - Evaporation of Pyrolysis Oil: Product Distribution and Residue Char Analysis - Design of Efficient Catalysts for Gasification of Pyrolysis Oil Char - Steam Reforming of Vapors / Gases Released during Commercial Charcoal Production - System Configurations for the Conversion of Pyrolysis Oil to Fuel Cell Electricity