Design and Development of a Catalytic Fixed-Bed Reactor for Gasification of Banana Biomass in Hydrogen Production

• Published in: Catalysts Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 395
• Main Authors: Tacuri, Diego, Andrade, Christian, Álvarez, Paúl, Abril-González, Mónica, Zalamea, Silvana, Pinos-Vélez, Verónica, Jara, Lourdes, Montero-Izquierdo, Andres
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.04.2022
• Subjects: Alternative energy sources; Aluminum oxide; banana plant; Biomass; Carbon dioxide; Catalysts; Chemical reactions; Coal gasification; Efficiency; Electricity; Emissions; Environmental impact; Experimentation; Fluidized beds; Fossil fuels; Fuel cells; Gas chromatography; Gas mixtures; Gas-liquid systems; Gasification; Greenhouse gases; High temperature; Hydrogen; Hydrogen production; Natural gas; Nuclear fuels; Particle size; Raw materials; Renewable resources; Selectivity; Silica gel; Synthesis gas; Water vapor
• ISSN: 2073-4344; 2073-4344
• DOI: 10.3390/catal12040395

Hydrogen produced from biomass is an alternative energy source to fossil fuels. In this study, hydrogen production by gasification of the banana plant is proposed. A fixed-bed catalytic reactor was designed considering fluidization conditions and a height/diameter ratio of 3/1. Experimentation was carried out under the following conditions: 368 °C, atmospheric pressure, 11.75 g of residual mass of the banana (pseudo-stem), an average particle diameter of 1.84 mm, and superheated water vapor as a gasifying agent. Gasification reactions were performed using a catalyzed and uncatalyzed medium to compare the effectiveness of each case. The catalyst was Ni/Al2O3, synthesized by coprecipitation. The gas mixture produced from the reaction was continuously condensed to form a two-phase liquid–gas system. The synthesis gas was passed through a silica gel filter and analyzed online by gas chromatography. To conclude, the results of this study show production of 178 mg of synthesis gas for every 1 g of biomass and the selectivity of hydrogen to be 51.8 mol% when a Ni 2.5% w/w catalyst was used. The amount of CO2 was halved, and CO was reduced from 3.87% to 0% in molar percentage. Lastly, a simulation of the distribution of temperatures inside the furnace was developed; the modeled behavior is in agreement with experimental observations.