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H2-rich syngas production and tar removal over biochar-supported Ni-Fe bimetallic catalysts during catalytic pyrolysis-gasification of biomass

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  • Magoua Mbeugang, Christian Fabrice
  • Mahmood, Faisal
  • Ali, Mujahid
  • Tang, Jiazhen
  • Li, Bin

Abstract

This study aims to develop an economically-viable biochar-based catalyst to improve H2-rich syngas production and simultaneously mitigate tar formation during catalytic pyrolysis-gasification of pine sawdust. Different biochar (BC@N2 and BC@CO2) and biochar-supported Ni-Fe bimetallic catalysts (Ni-Fe-BC@N2 and Ni-Fe-BC@CO2) were synthesized under N2 and CO2 atmospheres. A two-stage fixed-bed reactor was applied to evaluate their catalytic performance under varied temperatures. Ni-Fe-BC@N2 and Ni-Fe-BC@CO2 catalysts both had a porous structure with a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of around 330 m2/g, but Ni-Fe-BC@CO2 prepared under CO2 atmosphere exhibited additional meso-/macro-pores besides the micropores comparatively. With the addition of Ni-Fe-BC catalysts, the total gas yield increased greatly with a syngas content over 82 vol% when gasification temperature was higher than 700 °C. H2 was the dominated gas in the product gas instead of CO (compared with that without and with BC@N2 and BC@CO2 catalysts) possibly due to the enhanced water-gas shift (WGS) reaction by the Ni-Fe-BC catalysts. The total gas yield could achieve 3172.62 mL/g biomass at 750 °C, with a H2 yield of 1452.72 mL/g biomass and a CO yield of 1204.34 mL/g biomass. In comparison, Ni-Fe-BC@CO2 catalyst performed better than Ni-Fe-BC@N2 catalyst in terms of both H2-rich syngas production and tar removal.

Suggested Citation

  • Magoua Mbeugang, Christian Fabrice & Mahmood, Faisal & Ali, Mujahid & Tang, Jiazhen & Li, Bin, 2025. "H2-rich syngas production and tar removal over biochar-supported Ni-Fe bimetallic catalysts during catalytic pyrolysis-gasification of biomass," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:243:y:2025:i:c:s0960148125002095
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.122547
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zhang, Zhikun & Liu, Lina & Shen, Boxiong & Wu, Chunfei, 2018. "Preparation, modification and development of Ni-based catalysts for catalytic reforming of tar produced from biomass gasification," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1086-1109.
    2. Gao, Ningbo & Salisu, Jamilu & Quan, Cui & Williams, Paul, 2021. "Modified nickel-based catalysts for improved steam reforming of biomass tar: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Li, Bin & Magoua Mbeugang, Christian Fabrice & Huang, Yong & Liu, Dongjing & Wang, Qian & Zhang, Shu, 2022. "A review of CaO based catalysts for tar removal during biomass gasification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PB).
    4. Magoua Mbeugang, Christian Fabrice & Li, Bin & Lin, Dan & Xie, Xing & Wang, Shuaijun & Wang, Shuang & Zhang, Shu & Huang, Yong & Liu, Dongjing & Wang, Qian, 2021. "Hydrogen rich syngas production from sorption enhanced gasification of cellulose in the presence of calcium oxide," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
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    1. Ma, Chaowei & Hu, Jianhang & Wang, Hua & Yu, Yong & Tan, Cheng, 2026. "Advances and challenges in biomass thermochemical conversion: From resource utilization to process optimization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 226(PC).
    2. Yang, Derui & Jerzak, Wojciech & Isa, Yusuf Makarfi & Xie, Xing & Lin, Dan & Yang, Haiping & Zhang, Shihong & Zhu, Youjian & Li, Bin, 2025. "Importance of pore and chemical structures of activated biochar on bio-oil deoxygenation during online catalytic cracking of volatiles over activated biochars obtained from different activation methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    3. Miaomiao Zhu & Qi Wang & Shuang Wang, 2025. "Recent Advances and Future Perspectives in Catalyst Development for Efficient and Sustainable Biomass Gasification: A Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-28, August.

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