Red mud enhanced biomass gasification to produce syngas: Mechanism, simulation and economic evaluation

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2024-11, Vol.499, p.156208, Article 156208
• Main Authors: Liu, Hongyu, Tang, Yuting, Ma, Xiaoqian, Tang, Jiehong, Yue, Wenchang, Chen, Weilong, Sun, Ziwei, Deng, Jingmin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomass; Gasification; Methanol; Oxygen; Red mud
• ISSN: 1385-8947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.156208

[Display omitted] •Explored the potential red mud (RM) as the catalyst in biomass gasification.•Clarified the impacts of RM and the typical metals in RM on biomass gasification.•Delved into the catalytic mechanism of RM-enhanced biomass gasification.•Modeled RM-enhanced biomass gasification coupled with SOEC for methanol synthesis.•Analyzed economic feasibility of RM-enhanced biomass for methanol production. Red mud (RM) has the potential to balance catalytic activity and recycling stability. To achieve the efficient utilization of RM, this study systematically explores the RM potential as the catalyst in biomass gasification through three aspects: catalytic experiment, simulation of biomass gasification coupled with solid oxide electrolysis cells for methanol and economic analysis. The catalytic experimental results indicate that RM has a positive effect on the biomass gasification, with a gas yield of 615.9 ml/gbiomass, representing an increment of 40.9 %. Fe2O3 and Al2O3 are the main catalytic components in RM. The simulation results on biomass gasification coupled with SOEC for methanol show that RM has increased the methanol yield to 381.83 kg/tonBiomass, with an increase of 23.9 %. The economic analysis indicates that the RM can reduce the methanol production cost, demonstrating a promising application prospect. This paper providing strong support for RM high-value synergistic utilization.