Title:
Flexible Syngas Production from Oxy-steam Biomass Gasification with Electrolysis and Water-gas Shift
Author(s):
Torres-Rivera, F., Beuel, P., Föhlisch, L., Brands, M., Barnert, P., Werner, C., Malek, C., Stenzel, P.
Document(s):
Paper
Slide presentation
Abstract:
This study thermodynamically models an integrated system for converting eucalyptus wood chips via oxy-steam gasification, a water-gas shift reactor, and an alkaline electrolyser. The system is designed to produce high-quality syngas with adjustable composition, targeting downstream applications such as Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, methanol production, and high-purity hydrogen generation. The results show that air-based gasification produces syngas with limited suitability for catalytic synthesis due to nitrogen dilution and suboptimal H2:CO and (H2 - CO2):(CO + CO2) values. Oxy-steam gasification improves syngas quality and enables Fischer Tropsch-compatible H2:CO ratios when operating at medium to high steam-to-biomass ratios. However, reaching (H2 - CO2):(CO + CO2) ratios close to 2, as required for methanol synthesis necessitates further gas conditioning. Integrating a water-gas shift reactor enables fine-tuning of the H2:CO ratio and enhances hydrogen yield. Integrating an electrolyser further increases system flexibility. The electrolytic hydrogen can be added to produce methanol-compatible syngas and further boost the total hydrogen output, while the oxygen is used as the gasifying agent. Overall, the proposed system demonstrates strong potential as a modular and flexible platform for sustainable syngas production from biomass. Future work will focus on experimental validation.
Keywords:
biomass gasification, methanol, syngas, Fischer-Tropsch, electrolysis, water-gas shift
Topic:
Biomass Conversion for Bioenergy
Subtopic:
Gasification for synthesis gas production
Event:
33rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
4BO.13.4
Pages:
675 - 683
ISBN:
978-88-89407-25-7
Paper DOI:
10.5071/33rdEUBCE2025-4BO.13.4
Price:
FREE
