Biorenewable hydrogen production through biomass gasification: A review and future prospects

Leichang Cao; Iris K M Yu; Xinni Xiong; Daniel C W Tsang; Shicheng Zhang; James H Clark; Changwei Hu; Yun Hau Ng; Jin Shang; Yong Sik Ok

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109547

Biorenewable hydrogen production through biomass gasification: A review and future prospects

Environ Res. 2020 Jul:186:109547. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109547. Epub 2020 Apr 18.

Authors

Leichang Cao¹, Iris K M Yu², Xinni Xiong³, Daniel C W Tsang⁴, Shicheng Zhang⁵, James H Clark⁶, Changwei Hu⁷, Yun Hau Ng⁸, Jin Shang⁸, Yong Sik Ok⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP(3)), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁴ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: dan.tsang@polyu.edu.hk.
⁵ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP(3)), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China.
⁶ Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China.
⁸ School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁹ Korea Biochar Research Center, Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 32335432
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109547

Abstract

Hydrogen is recognized as one of the cleanest energy carriers, which can be produced from renewable biomass as a promising feedstock to achieve sustainable bioeconomy. Thermochemical technologies (e.g., gasification and pyrolysis) are the main routes for hydrogen production from biomass. Although biomass gasification, including steam gasification and supercritical water gasification, shows a high potential in field-scale applications, the selectivity and efficiency of hydrogen production need improvement to secure cost-effective industrial applications with high atom economy. This article reviews the two main-stream biomass-to-hydrogen technologies and discusses the significance of operating conditions and considerations in the catalytic system design. Challenges and prospects of hydrogen production via biomass gasification are explored to advise on the critical information gaps that require future investigations.

Keywords: Biomass valorization; Biorefinery; Catalytic gasification; Clean energy; Sustainable waste management; Syngas production.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Biomass
Catalysis
Hydrogen*
Steam*
Water

Substances

Steam
Water
Hydrogen