Title:
Unraveiling the Behavior of Acetic Acid and Furfural in Supercritical Water Gasification of Biomass: Effect of the Catalyst on the Selectivity
Author(s):
Michel, J., Demey, H., Chappaz, A.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is a thermal process aiming the conversion of wet biomass feedstock into gas, by using supercritical water properties. However, the mechanisms implied in the reaction are still under investigation, and are strongly dependent on the feedstock composition and the operating conditions. Metal catalysts are used to increase the gas yield while reducing the reaction temperature. In order to understand better the mechanisms, and the impact of the degradation products and the catalyst, SCWG of acetic acid and furfural was performed with Raney nickel as catalyst, and the resulting phases were characterized. Both molecules exhibited two different behaviors: without catalyst, the acetic acid is barely gasified and remains at the end of the reaction, while its gas efficiency (GE) increases from 1.1 to 67.7 % in presence of Raney nickel. At the opposite, furfural is mainly converted into char without catalyst, but its GE reaches about 65.5 % with Raney nickel. Moreover, whereas the gas composition remains similar in both acetic acid SCWG (with and without catalyst), the catalyst induces a gas selectivity in the case of furfural SCWG, by converting the produced CO into CH4. Such results are very promising for further investigations to unravel biomass SCWG mechanisms.
Keywords:
acetic acid, catalytic conversion, furfural, hydrothermal gasification, supercritical water gasification (SCWG)
Topic:
Biomass Conversion to Intermediate Bioenergy Carriers and Sustainable Biofuels
Subtopic:
Hydrothermal processing
Event:
33rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
5DO.9.1
Pages:
908 - 911
ISBN:
978-88-89407-25-7
Paper DOI:
10.5071/33rdEUBCE2025-5DO.9.1
Price:
FREE
