Hydrogen-rich gas production from steam gasification of palm oil wastes using the supported nano-NiO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

The catalytic steam gasification of palm oil wastes for hydrogen-rich gas production was experimentally investigated in a combined fixed bed reactor using the newly developed nano-NiO/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst. The results indicated that the nano-NiO/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst had greater activity for the cracking of tar in vapor and of hydrocarbons and a higher hydrogen yield than the calcined dolomite in catalytic steam gasification of palm oil wastes. Meanwhile, a series of experiments have been performed to explore the effects of temperature, steam to biomass ratio (S/B) and biomass particle size on gas composition and gas yield. The experiments demonstrated that temperature was the most important factor in this process, higher temperature contributed to more hydrogen production and gas yield. Compared with biomass catalytic gasification, the introduction of steam improved gas quality and yield, the optimal value of SIB was found to be 1.33 under the present operating condition. It was also shown that a smaller particle was more favorable for gas quality and yield.