Hydrogen rich gas production via nano-catalytic gasification of bagasse in supercritical water

Abstract

Ru/Al₂O₃ nano-catalysts were prepared with impregnation and microemulsion techniques. The supercritical water gasification reaction was performed at 400^oC and 5-60 min. Within the tested operation conditions, the reaction residence time of 15 min was the optimum to maximize the H₂ yield. It was observed that using microemulsion technique increases the total gas yield significantly. Using microemulsion technique for preparation of Ru/Al₂₃ nano-catalyst with water to surfactant ration of 0.5, increased the hydrogen yield to 17.6 (mmol of H₂/ g of bagasse), CO yield to 14.2 (mmol of CO/g of bagasse) and light gaseous hydrocarbons to 1.4 (mmol of light gaseous hydrocarbons/g of bagasse). It was observed that using micro emulsion technique increases the catalyst specific activity by a factor of 1.7 which considerably can enhance the economic aspects of the bagasse super critical water gasification technology.<span id="transmark" style="display: none; width: 0px; height: 0px;"></span>