Production of sustainable hydrogen using thermochemical gasification of biomass

Hydrogen production systems based on thermochemical gasification of biomass typically consist of the following basic steps: pre-treatment, gasification, gas cleaning, upgrading and separation. The development of the technology depends on the successful integration of these steps and technical and economic analysis is required to match the optimum technology with available feedstock to produce a product of the necessary quality for the target application. The section Energy Technology is participating in a new EU-funded project which is aimed at developing and optimizing an energy-efficient and cost-efficient method to produce hydrogen-rich gases from biomass, including residues, using circulating fluidised bed technology. This gas can then be upgraded to commercial quality hydrogen or to synthesis gas for further upgrading to liquid fuels such as DME and methanol or Fischer-Tropsch diesel. An existing 100 kWth circulating fluidised bed gasifier will be modified and used to assess the influence of operating parameters such as oxidant type (oxygen concentration, steam) on the gasifcation process experimentally. The influence operating conditions relevant for hydrogen production on the formation of the main components and contaminants will be determined under. An experimental and theoretical analysis will be made of the fate of alkali metals and particulates throughout the system including the high temperature gas filter. An analysis of the bottlenecks caused by these components will be given and a detailed description of the Delft tasks and their role in the multidisciplinary RandD project will be presented.