Hydrogen Production by Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass and Catalytic Steam Reforming of Pyrolysis Oil

Fast pyrolysis of biomass generates pyrolytic oil, which is a mixture of carbohydrate-derived acids, aldehydes and polyols, lignin-derived substituted phenolics, and extractives-derived terpenoids and fatty acids. The conversion of this pyrolysis oil into H.sub.2 and CO.sub.2 is thermodynamically favored under appropriate steam reforming conditions. Our efforts have focused on the catalytic steamreforming process at reasonable steam/carbon ratios and process severities. Bench-scale experiments have determined the performance of Ni-based catalysts using model compounds as prototypes of the oxygenates present in the pyrolysis oil. It has been proven that steam reforming of acetic acid, hydroxyacetaldehyde, furfural, and syringol proceeds rapidly within a reasonable range of severities.Time-on-stream studies are now under way using a fixed-bed atmospheric-pressure reactor to test the durability of the catalysts, thus substantiating the technical feasibility of the catalytic reforming option.