Activity and stability of different Fe loaded primary catalysts for tar elimination

The performance of olivine, dolomite and γ-alumina primary catalysts was evaluated in the continuous tar elimination process in which toluene was selected as the biomass gasification tar model compound. Iron was incorporated into these catalysts in order to improve their catalytic activity. All the experiments were performed in a continuous flow fluidized bed micro-reactor, with a steam/toluene ratio of 4 and a space velocity (GHSV) of 820 h−1, which corresponds to a catalyst amount of 3.8 cm3. The effect of temperature was studied using olivine in the 800–900 °C range, which allowed concluding that 850 °C was the best temperature for tar removal. The fresh and deactivated catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO). Tar conversion efficiency was assessed by means of carbon conversion, H2 yield (based on the maximum allowed by stoichiometry), gas composition and product yields, with Fe/Al2O3 leading to the highest conversion (87.6 %) and H2 yield (38 %). Likewise, Fe/Al2O3 also provided the highest stability, as it allowed operating for long periods with high conversion values (85.9 % after 35 min on stream), although it underwent severe deactivation. The analysis of the spent catalysts revealed that deactivation occurred mainly by coke deposition on the catalyst surface and iron phase oxidation, with Fe/olivine and Fe/dolomite leading to the faster deactivation due to their poorer metal dispersion related to their reduced surface area. The TPO profiles showed that the coke deposited on the three catalysts was amorphous with a very small contribution of highly structured carbon.