Tar-free syngas
Although biomass gasification has been around for centuries, the synthesis gas (syngas) produced contains numerous hydrocarbons, also called tars, which are detrimental to process equipment and can be hazardous to human health. Although research has tested a wide variety of methods from filters to absorbers to exotic systems involving plasma, a practical solution to managing these tars has remained elusive.
Last month, Frontline BioEnergy LLC (Nevada, Iowa; frontlinebioenergy.com) said that it achieved a breakthrough in syngas quality for biomass gasification at its new pilot facility located in Nevada, Iowa. The company’s TarFreeGas technology achieved the ultimate goal of biomass gasification: ultra-clean biomass-derived syngas.
“We were thrilled when our results began to show non-detectable levels of all tars leaving the catalytic gas converter,” says T. J. Paskach, Frontline’s chief technology officer.
TarFreeGas utilizes a pressurized (up to 10 bars) reactor containing a fluidized bed of sand and can operate with either air and steam or pure oxygen and steam. TarFreeGas causes tar levels up to 99% lower than traditional fluidized-bed gasifiers, the company says.