Industrial-scale gas conditioning including Topsoe tar reforming and purification downstream biomass gasifiers: An overview and recent examples

The gas conditioning, purification, and module adjustment are crucial steps in the preparation of an optimal synthesis gas composition for a wide range of syngas conversion processes and catalysts. These are all areas where Haldor Topsoe A/S has been active since the establishment of the company in 1940. With an industrial perspective on large-scale biomass gasification, syngas conditioning and clean-up, we provide a brief overview along with general considerations. Four recent large-scale projects with conditioning and purification of raw biomass gasifier syngas are discussed, with examples including the steam reforming of tar in dusty and clean environments. All crucial steps have been demonstrated in these projects simultaneously with the synthesis of end-products such as methanol, dimethyl ether, gasoline, natural gas (methane), or simply syngas suitable for electricity-generating gas engines. Although the solutions are available commercially, looking to the future we anticipate the development of regenerative sorbent hot gas sulfur removal technologies for the low sulfur contents in biomass gasification gases to significantly further the overall energy efficiency in the gas conditioning and purification sections before syngas conversion to chemicals and fuels. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.