Study on getting high gas energy yield by biomass catalytic cracking

The catalytic cracking characteristics were investigated in a home-made two-stage fixed bed reactor with the special coke, calcined dolomite, and porous high-alumina clinker as catalysts. The purpose of the present work was to get high gas energy yield by catalytic cracking reaction of biomass. Experiments were conducted at pyrolysis temperature 700 °C and catalytic cracking temperature ranging from 700 to 900 °C using sawdust as biomass raw material. The results show that the special coke is the most effective among three kinds of catalysts on tar conversion rate and gas energy yield, etc. The microstructures of catalysts were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and influence of catalyst's microstructure on gas energy yield of biomass was studied.