Biomass tar cracking and syngas production using rice husk char-supported nickel catalysts coupled with microwave heating

Abstract

In the present work, biomass pyrolysis tar cracking and reforming for high quality syngas production using a rice husk char (RHC)-supported nickel catalyst (Ni/RHC) coupled with microwave heating was investigated. The Ni/RHC catalyst exhibited a high catalytic performance on tar removal and contributed well to the production of CO and H₂. The conversion efficiency could reach up to 97.3%, and the CO and H₂ yields were 274.0 ml g⁻¹ and 248.9 ml g⁻¹, respectively, at 700 °C, under microwave conditions, when the nickel loading amount was 10.42 wt% of the support. The tar conversion efficiencies and syngas yields significantly increased as the cracking temperatures increased from 500 °C to 700 °C and the nickel loading amount increased from 0 to 10.42 wt%. The Ni/RHC catalysts became more effective for tar removal and the production of syngas increased under microwave conditions compared to the results obtained under conventional conditions.