Catalytic gasification of pinewood sawdust and peat in a pilot-scale air-blown fluidized bed gasifier

The influence of bed materials (olivine, limestone, dolomite, and a crushed iron ore) and equivalence ratios (ER) on tar formation and gasification efficiencies were studied. Combustible gas (methane, hydrogen, and CO) yields were generally highest at medium ER values. Tar and combustible gas yields were lower for crushed peat when compared with those for pine sawdust for all ER values under similar conditions. Olivine was the most attrition-resistant and thermally stable bed material among the four bed materials tested. Although there were issues with attrition-resistance and thermal stability, limestone exhibited excellent catalytic tar cracking activity. The tars from pine sawdust gasification with olivine, limonite, and dolomite bed materials contained high contents of phenolic/aromatic compounds such as phenol, 2-methyl phenol, and naphthalene. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 2010 Spring National Meeting (San Antonio, TX 3/21-25/2010).