Global challenges in the sustainable development of biomass gasification: An overview

Biomass has proven to be an effective energy carrier capable of fulfilling the growing demand of clean and everlasting energy source for the sustainable development of society. Among different biomass conversion routes, biomass gasification is one of the most promising thermochemical routes for conversion of biomass into gaseous fuel for both heat and power generation applications besides biofuel production through fermentation. But, we are unable to present these gaseous fuels directly for domestic and commercial uses, which indicates the existence of various barriers including the lack of research in this area. In this article, various barriers to the technology, such as challenges with biomass supply chain management, biomass pretreatment, generic shortcomings, gas conditioning and conversion technology have been highlighted. Based on recent studies, the gasification of biomass, gas conditioning, government policies and utilization of fuel gas for heat and power generation applications have been identified as the greatest challenges. Despite the availability of different gasifier reactors, a highly efficient reactor design is yet to be developed for successful operation and commercialization. Thus, an advanced gasification system with efficient gas conditioning technology can significantly overcome many of the barriers.