Mid Sweden University

This paper presents a study on the effects of catalytically active materials, before tests in the 150 kW allothermal biomass gasifier at Mid Sweden University (MIUN). The gasifier has been built up in 2008 for research on synthetic fuel production, and is a combination of a circulating fluidised bed (CFB) riser as combustor and a fluidised bed (FB) as steam gasifier. The MIUN gasifier has a unique design suitable for in-built tar/methane (CH₄) catalytic reforming. The lifetime of the catalyst can be prolonged using a dual fluidised bed gasifier (DFBG) with continuously internal regeneration of the catalyst. The catalytic effects of 1) basic condition with silica sand (no catalytic activity), 2) commercial catalyst, 3) development metal-catalyst (high surface area support), and 4) olivine catalyst will be evaluated by comparing tar/CH₄ content in the syngas from the gasifier operated under different conditions. Silica sand and commercial catalyst can be considered as extremes for comparing the activity of the chosen conditions.