Publication: Steam/co2 gasification of palm biochar using natural catalyst under microwave irradiation
Date
2020-08-01
Authors
Ahmad, Azlina
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Abstract
Studies on the effect of steam as gasifying agent with CO2 in char gasification is an important mechanism in gasification for fuel gas conversion. The current work aims at mitigating CO2 as greenhouse gas (GHG) in char gasification with steam addition to improve char reactivity and produce combustible gases during gasification reaction. In this study, steam/CO2 mixture gasification reactivity of oil palm shell (OPS) char using microwave energy has been investigated. Microwave assisted steam - CO2 gasification was characterized in the temperature range of 700- 850°C and steam/CO2 ratio in the range of 0.014 - 0.043. Surface composition and morphology of char embedded with ash were examined at different temperatures using scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS). Optimum operation was achieved at a steam/CO2 ratio of 0.028 and temperature of 850°C with 92% and 85% CO2 and char conversions, respectively. Increasing steam flow at maximum temperature increased the H2/CO ratio by 22% and synthesis gas (syngas) heating value by 6%. The catalysts loaded OPS char used natural catalyst produce from rubber seed shell ash (RSS- ash), bamboo whole ash (BW-ash) and corn cob ash (CC-ash), which are rich in potassium to enhance CO2 gasification reactivity of OPS char. The results show that the highest gasification reactivity was achieved for 6.5% BW ash loaded char. The GC and SEM–EDX analyses confirmed the successful loading of natural catalyst of 6.5% BW ash on OPS char which contributed to promoting the gas yield up to 98% from without them.