Preparation of high-activity coal char-based catalysts from high metals containing coal gangue and lignite for catalytic decomposition of biomass tar

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2021-04, Vol.46 (27), p.14138-14147
• Main Authors: Du, Shilin, Dong, Yichen, Guo, Feiqiang, Tian, Beile, Mao, Songbo, Qian, Lin, Xin, Chengyun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomass; Char-based catalyst; Coal gangue; Metals content; Tar decomposition
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.01.179

The potential of using high metals containing coal gangue and lignite to prepare high-activity coal char-based catalysts is investigated for effective biomass tar decomposition. Loose structure and rough surface are formed for these char-based catalysts with heterogeneous distribution of a large number of inorganic particles. In the biomass tar decomposition, the performance of the coal char-based catalysts is significantly influenced by the content of the metals in the raw materials and coal gangue char (GC) with the ash content as high as 50.80% exhibits the highest activity in this work. A high biomass tar conversion efficiency of 93.5% is achieved at 800 °C along with a significant increase in the fuel gas product. During the five-time consecutive tests, the catalytic performance of GC increases a little at the second or third times reuse and remains relatively stable, showing the remarkable stability of the catalyst in biomass tar decomposition applications. [Display omitted] •High-activity coal char-based catalysts were prepared for tar decomposition.•The tar conversion efficiency reached 93.5% at 800 °C using GC catalyst.•The inherent metal oxides on the catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity.•The GC catalyst showed excellent stability during the five-time consecutive tests.