H2 rich product gas by steam gasification of biomass with in situ CO2 absorption in a dual fluidized bed system of 8 MW fuel input

The steam gasification of solid biomass by means of the absorption enhanced reforming process (AER process) yields a high quality product gas with increased hydrogen content. The product gas can be used for a wide range of applications which covers the conventional combined heat and power production as well as the operation of fuel cells, the conversion into liquid fuels or the generation of synthetic natural gas and hydrogen. On the basis of a dual fluidized bed system, steam gasification of biomass is coupled with in Situ CO2 absorption to enhance the formation of hydrogen. The reactive bed material (limestone) used in the dual fluidized bed system realizes the continuous CO2 removal by cyclic carbonation of CaO and calcination of CaCO3. Biomass gasification with in situ CO2 absorption has been substantially proven in pilot plant scale of 100 kW fuel input. The present paper outlines the basic principles of steam gasification combined with the AER process the investigations in reactive bed materials, and concentrates further on the first time application of the AER process on industrial scale. The first time application has been carried out within an experimental campaign at a combined heat and power plant of 8 MW fuel input. The results are outlined with regard to the process conditions and achieved product gas composition. Furthermore, the results are compared with standard steam gasification of biomass as well as with application of absorption enhanced reforming process at pilot plant scale. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.