Biomass gasification: product quantification and reaction kinetics

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The goal of the present study is to develop new product quantification approaches for syngas and tars obtained from biomass catalytic gasification. The laboratory scale and analytical equipments to be used will allow quantitative assessments of syngas components and tar species using GC-MS with FID and TCD detectors, packed and capillary columns. A number of capillary columns with different polarities will be characterized and studied to separate tar components, such as oxygenates and aromatics, determining adsorption parameters, retention times and statistical moments of different order. This will provide to the partner company of this CRD research, Mandel Scientific, a competitive and scientific advantage, establishing a niche market for their GC-MS-capillary column instruments for biomass gasification product analysis. Furthermore, in order to perform these experiments in realistic scenarios that simulate industrial conditions, catalysts as well as kinetic models for catalytic gasification of biomass will be studied under relevant process conditions. The ultimate goal of these new catalysts will be to optimize H2/CO ratios for alcohol production (e.g. ethanol), with minimum coke and tar formation and for long term catalyst stability. To accomplish this, we propose to consider nickel based catalysts modified with dopants and kinetic models accounting for adsorption, diffusion and reaction phenomena. Kinetics will be established using data from the advanced analytical equipment developed in collaboration with Mandel.