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Abstract: Hydrogen production by biomass gasification using solar energy is a promising approach for overcoming the drawbacks of fossil fuel utilization, but the storage of discontinuous solar flux is a critical issue for continuous solar hydrogen production. A continuous hydrogen production system by biomass gasification in supercritical water using molten-salts-stored solar energy was proposed and constructed. A novel double tube helical heat exchanger was designed to be molten salts reactor for hydrogen production. Model compounds (glycerol/glucose) and real biomass (corn cob) were successfully gasified in this molten salts reactor for producing hydrogen-rich gas. The unique temperature profiles of biomass slurry in the reactor were observed and compared with that of conventional electrical heating and direct solar heating approaches. Product gases yield, gasification efficiency and exergy conversion efficiency of the reactor were analyzed. The results showed that the performances of reactor were determined by feedstock style, biomass concentration, residence time and biomass slurry temperature profiles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Interests in large-scale use of biomass for energy and in hydrogen are motivated largely by global environmental issues. Cellulose and sawdust were gasified in supercritical water to produce hydrogen-rich gas in this paper, and Ru/C, Pd/C, CeO2 paticles, nano-CeO2 and nano-(CeZr) x O2 were selected as catalysts. The experimental results showed that the catalytic activities were Ru/C>Pd/C>nano-(CeZr) x O2 >nano-CeO2 >CeO2 particle in turn. Low-concentration sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) (2–3wt.%) was mixed with particulate biomass and water to form a uniform and stable viscous paste which can be efficiently gasified. The 10wt.% cellulose or sawdust with CMC can be gasified near completely with Ru/C catalyst to produce 2–4g hydrogen yield and 11–15g potential hydrogen yield per 100g feedstock at the condition of 500°C, 27MPa, 20min residence time in supercritical water. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A novel system of hydrogen production by biomass gasification in supercritical water using concentrated solar energy has been constructed, installed and tested at the State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering (SKLMF). The “proof of concept” tests for solar-thermal gasification of biomass in supercritical water (SCW) were successfully carried out. Biomass model compounds (glucose) and real biomass (corn meal, wheat stalk) were gasified continuously with the novel system to produce hydrogen-rich gas. The effect of direct normal solar irradiation (DNI) and catalyst on gasification of biomass was also investigated. The results showed that the maximal gasification efficiency (the mass of product gas/the mass of feedstock) in excess of 110% were reached, hydrogen fraction in the gas product also approached to 50%. The experimental results confirmed the feasibility of the system and the advantage of the process, which supports future work to address the technical issues and develop the technology of solar-thermal hydrogen production by gasification of biomass in supercritical water. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Partial oxidative gasification in supercritical water is a new technology for hydrogen production from biomass. Firstly in this paper, supercritical water partial oxidative gasification process was analyzed from the perspective of theory and chemical equilibrium gaseous product was calculated using the thermodynamic model. Secondly, the influence of oxidant equivalent ratio on partial oxidative gasification of model compounds (glucose, lignin) and real biomass (corn cob) in supercritical water was investigated in a fluidized bed system. Experimental results show that oxidant can improve the gasification efficiency, and an appropriate addition of oxidant can improve the yield of hydrogen in certain reaction condition. When ER equaled 0.4, the gasification efficiency of lignin was 3.1 times of that without oxidant. When ER equaled 0.1, the yield of hydrogen from lignin increased by 25.8% compared with that without oxidant. Thirdly, the effects of operation parameters including temperature, pressure, concentration, and flow rate of feedstock on the gasification were investigated. The optimal operation parameters for supercritical water partial oxidative gasification were obtained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]