Sub-Pilot-Scale and Bench-Scale Reactor Tests and Thermodynamic Integrated Process Analysis of Production of H<sub>2</sub> from Woody Biomass via Chemical Looping

A thermodynamic integrated process assessment and experimental evaluation of the conversion of woody biomass to H<sub>2</sub> using chemical looping approaches were explored in this work. Both a two- and three-reactor approach were evaluated for effectiveness with a CaFe<sub>2</...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ranjani Siriwardane, Jarrett Riley, Chris Atallah, Michael Bobek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Biomass
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8783/5/2/30
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Summary:A thermodynamic integrated process assessment and experimental evaluation of the conversion of woody biomass to H<sub>2</sub> using chemical looping approaches were explored in this work. Both a two- and three-reactor approach were evaluated for effectiveness with a CaFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> oxygen carrier (OC). Experimental test campaigns consisted of semi-batch operations where a single reactor was loaded with a batch charge of the OC and fuel. Multi-reactor approaches were experimentally simulated by switching the gas atmosphere around the batch charge of the OC. The experiments showed that woody biomass was capable of reducing CaFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>, enabling the production of H<sub>2</sub> from steam oxidation. High steam conversion rates to H<sub>2</sub> of >75% were demonstrated. Reduced CaFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> catalyzed tar cracking, multi-cycle tests showed stable reactivity, and sub-pilot-scale tests showed improved reactivity and H<sub>2</sub> yield, accompanied by improved attrition resistance after over 30 cycles. The three-reactor configuration showed the highest potential for H<sub>2</sub> yield between the case studies, while the two-reactor configuration had the lowest auxiliary feed requirement. Both approaches showed increased yields and lower utilities than the baseline steam gasification technology.
ISSN:2673-8783