JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING OF JAPAN
Online ISSN : 1881-1299
Print ISSN : 0021-9592
Separation Engineering
Supercritical Water Gasification as Treatment for High Lipid Content Biomass in the Presence of Nickel Catalyst
Diane Valenzuela GubatangaOsamu SawaiTeppei Nunoura
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2021 Volume 54 Issue 10 Pages 525-533

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Abstract

In this work, a new approach towards converting high lipid content biomass into renewable hydrogen is investigated. Using canola oil as the representative biomass, hydrogen was obtained by employing supercritical water as a reaction medium in a continuous gasification system over nickel catalyst. The experiments were conducted at fixed temperature (400°C), pressure (25 MPa), reaction time (residence time 45 s, or weight hourly space velocity 25.5 h−1 for catalytic reaction) and varying feed concentrations (2–5 wt%). The results of the study revealed that increasing the feed concentration had a negative effect on hydrogen yield due to less water molecules present in the reactant. Another interesting observation is the appearance of a solid-like emulsion, composed of products from polymerization reaction. The appearance of this emulsion is strongly correlated to the decline of catalyst activity. Further characterization of the nickel catalyst used after the reaction found a significant decrease of its surface area. Moreover, deposition of carbonaceous compounds on its surface was detected, which could have inhibited the catalytic activity.

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© 2021 The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan
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