Premium
Supercritical water gasification of biomass in diamond anvil cells and fluidized beds
Author(s) -
Reddy Sivamohan N.,
Ding Ning,
Nanda Sonil,
Dalai Ajay K.,
Kozinski Janusz A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
biofuels, bioproducts and biorefining
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.931
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1932-1031
pISSN - 1932-104X
DOI - 10.1002/bbb.1514
Subject(s) - supercritical fluid , biomass (ecology) , hydrogen economy , energy carrier , hydrogen production , fluidized bed , waste management , hydrogen , environmental science , renewable energy , coal , electricity generation , chemical energy , process engineering , chemistry , engineering , organic chemistry , power (physics) , oceanography , electrical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , geology
With the shift in interest towards renewable energy, hydrogen as an alternative gaseous fuel seems to attract much attention. Waste biomass is an ideal option for the synthesis of biofuels due to its abundance and no net CO 2 emissions. Hydrogen can be produced through supercritical water gasification of waste biomass. Hydrogen is an attractive energy carrier which can be used as a direct fuel or in fuel cells to generate electricity and in other energy‐producing processes. Gasification of biomass in supercritical water can be performed for hydrogen generation in both batch and continuous modes with/without the application of catalysts. In spite of the progress made in various gasification technologies, diamond anvil cells and fluidized beds as the new‐generation batch and continuous reactors, respectively, are not fully recognized. The current review is focused on understanding the design, application and limitations of these two new reactor configurations to help motivate their wide‐scale utilization. The review also discusses the potential of diamond anvil cells in studying the involved chemical reactions, thermodynamics, and phase behavior of biomass components during gasification. Nonetheless, the caliber of fluidized beds in continuously gasifying biomass for hydrogen production in supercritical water is also documented. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd