Steam gasification of selected energy crops in a fixed bed reactor

The increasing world's energy demand and environmental concerns related to GHG emissions as well as depleting fossil fuel resources and unstable prices of crude oil and natural gas have caused a renewed interest in renewable energy sources, and in particularly in biomass, as an alternative to fossil fuels. In the paper the results of steam gasification of Salix Viminalis. Miscanthus X Giganteus (MXG), and Andropogon Gerardi in a laboratory-scale fixed bed reactor in the temperature range of 650-900 degrees C are presented as well as the procedure and results of biomass chars reactivity testing in the process of steam gasification. The highest reactivity R(50) in the whole temperature range was observed for MXG. Hydrogen content in the synthesis gas was comparable for MXG and Andropogon Gerardi and lower for Salix Viminalis, while the volumes of the synthesis gas and hydrogen were highest for MXG at all temperatures. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.