Hydrogen-rich syngas production from biomass gasification using biochar-based nanocatalysts

Nanocatalysts are beneficial for tar elimination and syngas production during biomass gasification. In this study, novel biochar-based nanocatalysts loaded with Ni/Ca/Fe nanoparticles was prepared by one-step impregnation method for catalytic steam gasification of biomass. Results showed that the metal particles were evenly distributed with the particle size of less than 20 nm. With the introduction of nanoparticles, H2 yield and tar conversion were obviously increased. Ni and Fe particles help to maintain the stability of the carrier microporous structure. Fe loaded biochar showed the best catalytic gasification performance, with 87% tar conversion and 42.46 mmol/g H2 production. The catalytic effect of Fe was also higher than that of Ni and Ca if deducting the influence of carrier consumption. It demonstrated that Fe-loaded biochar was a promising catalyst candidate for hydrogen-rich syngas production from biomass gasification.