Catalytic steam gasification of waste palm tree trunk derived bio-char

Abstract

Catalytic steam gasification of Malaysia Waste Palm Tree Trunk Derived Bio-char was studied using alkali metal carbonate (K2CO3) supported perovskite oxide catalysts which showed a favor catalytic activity in the carbon combustion. The bio-char steam gasification reactions were carried out using a fixed reactor under a steam atmosphere with different catalysts, such as K2CO3/LaMn0.8Cu0.2O3, K2CO3/Alumina, Nikel/LaMn0.8Cu0.2O3, Nikel/Alumina, and Alumina, respectively. The effects of temperature, catalyst support and catalysts mixing ratio on the syngas compositions and carbon conversion were carefully investigated. The syngas compositions were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). K2CO3/LaMn0.8Cu0.2O3 catalyst showed better carbon conversion compared to the other catalysts, which indicated the Perovskite Oxide was more effective as a support for the gasification catalyst. The results showed that the better carbon conversion within short time removed nearly 100% of heavy and light tar.