| Summary: |
Modern societies throughout the world have several major problems to deal with.. Some of the most significant examples are the climate changes, the management of wastes (residues) and the oil supply. In fact most of the accidental world is greatly dependent on foreign countries to satisfy its needs on energy, which brings an extreme economical problem.. Besides the supply problem, the petroleum is related to climate changes since the combustion of fossil fuels generates CO2 which is one of the main responsible for the greenhouse effect. As part of the solution posed by increasing amounts of residues and oil dependence problems, the biomass gasification comes up as an interesting option, since this technology enables the thermal conversion of a solid fuel into a gas by using a limited supply of oxygen, air or steam, or a combination, as oxidizing agents The product gas consists of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane and other hydrocarbons. In particular, biomass gasification directed to the production of hydrogen will be a very interesting option for the future. The hydrogen can be separated from the gas mixture produced in the gasifier, by several paths, including membrane separation, for further utilization as a fuel. Experimental work in this project will aim firstly the production of a hydrogen rich gas through biomass gasification, using a fluidized bed reactor that operates at atmospheric pressure, by the optimization of certain parameters such as temperature, air/steam ratio and biomass feeding flow rate. Secondly the removal of tars and particles that contaminate the gas flow by using a cyclone and a tar cracking reactor. In third p/ace the increase of hydrogen content in the gas by using a shift reactor and in last place the separation of the hydrogen produced, through the use of carbon molecular sieve membranes. |
| Results: |
The main goal of this project is the production of hydrogen from biomass, using integrated gasification and membrane technology.
Another objective is the contribution to the reduction of pollutant emissions and environmental problems through the production of a "green" energy carrier using a renewable energy source.
Hydrogen has being seen as the fuel of the future since its combustion does not generate dangerous emissions, such as CO2 among others (which are responsible for the greenhouse effect and because it has a high energetic density. Hydrogen can be obtained from several sources and through several technologies, including the gasification process, being later separated from the other gases.
The membranes performance in terms of hydrogen separation leading to the optimization of hydrogen yields and purity, ensuring an economically attractive process along with the demonstration of the potential advantages of using this kind of technologies together is another main goals of this project. |