Gasification investigations of coal and biomass blends for high purity H2 production with carbon capture potential

Biomass is carbon-neutral and has the carbon-negative potential if combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS). This study investigated the thermochemical conversion to high-purity hydrogen of a typical lignite (BYH) and seaweed biomass (BS) with carbon capture in a designed fixed-bed reactor at moderate conditions (1 atm, 873 K). High-purity hydrogen of 486.91-801.5 ml/g-blends with suppressed CO2 formation was produced in the alkaline gasification. The alkali can decompose the coal/biomass molecular structures, in-situ capture CO2 and control the gases to high-purity H-2 (80.1%-93.2%). The synergistic effect of coal and biomass changes the gas evolution behaviors and impacts the chemical structures of the char. The abundant SiO2 and Al2O3 in the coal can inhibit the catalytic activities of earth alkali metals in the biomass, but not much. These results are significant to the future development of low-carbon renewable energy techniques. (C) 2021 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigated the thermochemical conversion of lignite and seaweed biomass to high-purity hydrogen with carbon capture. The results showed that alkaline gasification can produce high-purity hydrogen and suppress CO2 formation, which is significant for the development of low-carbon renewable energy techniques.