Quality improvement and tar reduction of syngas produced by bio-oil gasification

Highlights: • Gasification of bio-oil was performed with respect to ER, temperature, and oxidant. • To produce high-quality syngas, steam gasification and tar reforming were effective. • ER 0.3, 1000 °C condition shows the highest H₂ concentration, LHV, and H₂/CO ratio. • Among the commercial catalysts, Ni–Al exhibited good efficiency. An increase in the energy consumption associated with heating, power generation, and transportation causes global warming and environmental pollution problems. In addition, global efforts such as electrification, the use of low-carbon fuels, etc., are being made to achieve the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Because bioenergy is carbon-neutral, it is attracting attention as an eco-friendly energy source that can reduce the use of fossil fuels. The entrained flow reactor used in this experiment had a total height of 1.4 m and a diameter of 0.1 m 1 kg of bio-oil was gasified at 600–1000 °C, and the composition and tar concentration of syngas were measured via gas chromatography and cold solvent trapping (CST) method, respectively. The tar concentration in syngas is an important operating factor for gas engines and turbines. Therefore, this study focuses on the reduction of tar levels in syngas by catalytic reforming. From the experimental results, it was found that the tar concentration was below 100 mg/m³ when steam gasification was performed at 1000 °C and equivalence ratio of 0.3. Furthermore, a catalyst was used for tar reforming to produce a high H₂ concentration in syngas.