Experimental Demonstration and Validation of Hydrogen Production Based on Gasification of Lignocellulosic Feedstock

The worldwide production of hydrogen in 2010 was estimated to be approximately
50 Mt/a, mostly based on fossil fuels. By using lignocellulosic feedstock, an environmentally friendly
hydrogen production route can be established. A flow sheet simulation for a biomass based hydrogen
production plant was published in a previous work. The plant layout consisted of a dual fluidized
bed gasifier including a gas cooler and a dust filter. Subsequently, a water gas shift plant was installed
to enhance the hydrogen yield and a biodiesel scrubber was used to remove tars and water from the
syngas. CO2 was removed and the gas was compressed to separate hydrogen in a pressure swing
adsorption. A steam reformer was used to reform the hydrocarbon-rich tail gas of the pressure swing
adsorption and increase the hydrogen yield. Based on this work, a research facility was erected and
the results were validated. These results were used to upscale the research plant to a 10 MW fuel feed
scale. A validation of the system showed a chemical efficiency of the system of 60% and an overall
efficiency of 55%, which indicates the high potential of this technology.