Characteristics of reactive biomass combustion by the optimization of central activating substance with efficient thermal recycling

Biomass is considered as a sustainable energy carrier, which contributes to the diversification of clean energy pathways. In this paper, a catalytic reactor was developed by integrating a central activating substance with wood particles to enhance the thermal conversion efficiency. The effects of oxide species, oxide concentrations, and central activating substance size were investigated on combustion characteristics. And various porous media structures were employed to enhance airflow and thermal transfer. The results indicated that the addition of KMnO4 and La2O3 increased hydrogen concentration by 48.54 % and 48.04 %, respectively. An appropriate number of oxides significantly increased the combustion temperature and improved gasification efficiency. Meanwhile, a peak hydrogen concentration of 11.4 % was achieved using an 8-12-16 gradient porous structure. Furthermore, with the increase of corncob diameter, hydrogen concentration rose initially and subsequently declined. A longer corncob length consistently enhanced syngas production. Additionally, the 30 (0) contractive outlet structure exhibited the highest lower heating value (10.73 MJ/Nm3) and cold gas efficiency (32.59 %). The experimental findings provided theoretical guidance for the high-value utilization of biomass and practical insights for advancing green energy technologies.