Conversion of Phenol-Based Tars over Biomass Char under H2 and H2O Atmospheres

This study focused on the effect of a wood char on tar cracking and reforming in the context of fluidized-bed gasification. Phenol was used to create in situ a mixture representative of tars produced by pyrolysis and gasification in a dual fluidized-bed reactor. The wood char was placed in a fixed-bed reactor, and atmospheres composed of H-2 and steam were tested both together and separately. Gasification of the wood char under the different atmospheres was characterized. The char was found to be highly catalytic with tars in the presence of steam. The influence of H-2 on catalytic activity remained low. A comparison to the results on olivine under the same reaction conditions showed that chars were much more efficient and may have a strong influence on tar reduction in fluidized-bed biomass gasification.