Abstract
A fundamental study on biomass decomposition was carried out using a batch reactor at 973 to 1223 K under atmospheric pressure of nitrogen. In order to investigate the decomposition-enhancement effect of nano-porous inorganic materials on decomposition behaviors of a typical woody biomass material of Yakushima (Japanese cedar of Yakushima) systematically, thermal decomposition experiments were carried out in the presence of a variety of nano-porous inorganic materials using the batch reactor. The results showed that average pore diameter of the materials have a significant effect on the gas yield from biomass. The larger the pore size, the higher the gas yield. The gas yield from Japanese cedar was 14 wt% at 1223 K in the absence of nano-porous material. At the same temperature, the yield increased to 47 wt% in the presence of a silica having the maximum pore diameter (100 nm). This enhancement is thought to be due to further decomposition of tar vapor in the pores to gas. The final purpose of this research is to design and construct a test-scale continuous gasifier for fuel gas production from biomass.
