Gasification of pyrocatechol in supercritical water in the presence of potassium hydroxide

The results presented are fundamental investigations with regard to developing a process for hydrogen production from high moisture biomass and wastewater. Pyrocatechol is used as a model compound for lignin in biomass and for aromatic compounds in wastewaters. The experiments of pyrocatechol gasification provides knowledge of the chemical reactions occurring during gasification and their dependence on reaction conditions. The experiments were carried out in two different reactor types, a batch and a tubular reactor, to achieve long reaction times at low temperatures as well as short reaction times at high temperatures. The pressure, temperature, concentration, and reaction time dependence of the gasification is presented and compared with calculated equilibrium data. The influence of potassium hydroxide addition to improve the hydrogen yield was studied and the effect of different catalysts is discussed.