A review on the fuel gas cleaning technologies in gasification process

The product gas produced from gasification of solid fuel contains various impurities such as particulates, toxin gases, tar, vapours of heavy metals, etc. Presence of tar is a major issue which requires to be addressed before the use of gas product in the downstream process. Tar causes problems in the process equipment like flow channels, power generating units, etc. Generally gasification technology is adapted for the utilization of low grade coal, municipal solid waste, agro-waste, bio-waste, etc., which generates toxic and emits various hazardous compounds of chlorine, sulphur, nitrogen and heavy metals like Mn, Cd and Hg. Various alkali metals like Na, K, etc., generated through the gasification of wastes also create problem in the downstream processes when condensed at low temperature. The key challenge to commercializing gasification technology is to generate a clean fuel gas which meets the global emission standards. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the fuel gas cleaning methods those are used to remove the contaminants and gas impurities generated from various types of reactor for gasification of coal or biomass. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.