Hydrogen: Trends, production and characterization of the main process worldwide

Currently, the use of biomass as an energy source has received a tremendous amount of interest from all over the world due to its advantage in providing a continuous feedstock supply. Moreover, when compared to fossil fuels, biomass fuels possess negligible sulfur concentrations, produce less ash, and generate far less emissions into the air. Biomass has a potential to be a very promising alternative source of raw material for syngas production due to its tremendous availability. Syngas can be produced from the gasification of a biomass. However, this process requires a significant amount of energy due to the endothermic behavior of the reaction. The energy consumption during the gasification process is a major constraint on the thermal efficiency and on the design of the gasifier. Therefore, a substantial improvement and the optimization of the available gasification process are very crucial in developing a sustainable utilization of these renewable natural resources. This review article focuses on highlighting the characteristics and performances of the different types of gasifiers under variable process parameters that will affect the yields of the end products as well as the composition of the gas. The various types of models used in the simulations, the optimization of the gasification conditions and the economic evaluation of the gasification process will also be discussed.

Assessing the gasification performance of biomass: a review on biomass gasification process conditions, optimization and economic evaluation.

Malaysia is among the top most important palm oil producers in the world. The country is experiencing a robust development in new oil palm plantations and palm oil mills. This commodity plays a significant role in the Malaysia economic growth. As this industry becomes bigger and wider, a substantial amount of oil palm wastes is generated and create the problem of biomass waste overload. This problem tends to burden the operators with disposal difficulties and escalates the operating cost. Oil palm waste has significant potential in many applications. Traditionally, through mechanical conversion, some of the wastes are converted into organic fertilizers, animal feedstock or soil conditioner in oil palm plantations. Apart from mechanical conversion, thermochemical processes such as direct combustion, gasification, pyrolysis and liquefaction are the methods that are useful to transform the waste into value-added products. Recently, liquefaction has gained good attention in order to utilize the waste because of its simplicity and ability to yield a product that combine both of the useful functional groups present in liquefying solvents and the biomass. Within the scope, the objective of this paper is to review the current situation related to the oil palm industry in Malaysia, availability of the oil palm waste and its utilization through thermochemical conversion, with specific regards to the liquefaction process.

An overview of the oil palm industry in Malaysia and its waste utilization through thermochemical conversion, specifically via liquefaction

Numerous reviews have been found related to individual studies on coal gasification (CG) and biomass gasification (BG). However, this review deals mainly with the CO-gasification (COG) of numerous types of coal and biomass and then compares their results with those obtained using coal and biomass gasification in detail. There are several process parameters which have a direct effect on the gasification process and among them temperature is the most significant one. In this paper, the production of H2, CO2, CO, CH4, and other hydrocarbons in CG, BG and COG with the variation of temperature is reviewed in detail. As it mainly influences the gaseous products and their characteristic behaviour, this review takes into account the effect of temperature on various other parameters such as carbon conversion, gas yield, calorific value, cold gas efficiency as well as tar and char contents in various kinds of coals, biomasses and their mixtures under catalytic or non-catalytic conditions.

The effect of temperature on various parameters in coal, biomass and CO-gasification: A review

Advances in visible light responsive titanium oxide-based photocatalysts for CO2 conversion to hydrocarbon fuels

Oil palm is one of the major economic crops in many countries. Malaysia alone produces about 47% of the world's palm oil supply and can be considered as the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Malaysia also generates huge quantity of oil palm biomass including oil palm trunks, oil palm fronds, empty fruit bunches (EFB), shells and fibers as waste from palm oil fruit harvest and oil extraction processing. At present there is a continuously increasing interest in the utilization of oil palm biomass as a source of clean energy. One of the major interests is hydrogen from oil palm biomass. Hydrogen from biomass is a clean and efficient energy source and is expected to take a significant role in future energy demand due to the raw material availability. This paper presents a review which focuses on different types of thermo-chemical processes for conversion of oil palm biomass to hydrogen rich gas. This paper offers a concise and up-to-date scenario of the present status of oil palm industry in contributing towards sustainable and renewable energy.

/pdf/hydrogen-rich-gas-from-oil-palm-biomass-as-a-potential-s3od8urafe.pdf

M.S. Mohammad Amran

Papers

Hydrogen rich gas from oil palm biomass as a potential source of renewable energy in Malaysia

Air gasification of empty fruit bunch for hydrogen-rich gas production in a fluidized-bed reactor

Recent trends in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC): Current status, challenges, and future prospects

Fire resistance of geopolymer concrete: A critical review

Fire spalling behavior of high-strength concrete: A critical review