A review of gasification of bio-oil for gas production

Abstract

The commercial production of advanced fuels based on bio-oil gasification could be promising because the cost-effective transport of bio-oil could promote large-scale implementation of this biomass technology. So far there has been no specialized review of bio-oil gasification processes, including non-catalytic partial oxidation of bio-oil for syngas production and steam gasification of bio-oil for hydrogen production. A detailed and comprehensive review of gasification of bio-oil for gas production is presented in this paper. The background and significance of bio-oil research, the characteristics of bio-oil suitable for gasification, bio-oil gasification theory, types and configurations of bio-oil gasifiers, the quality of the product gas, parameter effects, and economic evaluation of bio-oil gasification are discussed, and finally a summary and future outlook are also delivered. Particular emphasis is placed on the discussion regarding the atomization of bio-oil, entrained flow gasifiers and their advantages, gas composition and the economic feasibility of production of advanced fuels via bio-oil gasification. Challenges for the future are identified as follows: (1) making full use of the experience accumulated in the area of petroleum refining; (2) practical demonstration of bio-oil gasification on a scale of 500 to 1000 kg bio-oil per hour; (3) the development of mathematical models for bio-oil gasification systems; and (4) development of suitable catalysts and profoundly understanding the catalyst deactivation mechanism at different stages for steam gasification of bio-oil.