CATALYTIC CO-GASIFICATION OF SUGARCANE BAGASSE AND OIL PALM FROND FOR H2-RICH SYNGAS PRODUCTION

Syngas, primarily consisting of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, offer a cleaner substitute for fossil fuels and can be produced through co-gasification of biomass waste. This study investigates sugarcane bagasse (SB) co-gasification and oil palm frond (OPF). The objective was to investigate the influence of parameters (temperature, biomass ratio and catalyst) and optimise process parameters for enhanced syngas production. The feedstock sample was placed in a fixed bed horizontal tube furnace reactor, and the gaseous product was sent to GC-NGA for analysis. Thirty-four experiments, indicated from RSM software, were conducted and syngas composition, considering factors such as temperature (700°C to 900°C), biomass ratio (20SB:80OPF, 50SB:50OPF, and 80SB:20OPF), and catalyst loading (0wt%, 15wt%, and 30wt%). ANOVA analysis showed P-value and F-values of limestone and dolomite response on H2 and syngas were obtained in the range P < 0.0001 and 50.99-112.55, respectively, indicating the model was significant. The model-predicted data proved to approach the actual data with high accuracy as all R2 values were in the range of 0.98-0.99, which was closer to one. The results showed the strong influence of the process temperature on H2 and Syngas yield, followed by the catalyst loading and biomass ratio. The highest H2 yield of 25 vol% and syngas of 49 vol% were produced during catalytic co-gasification of the 20SB:80OPF ratio with limestone, followed by dolomite (24 vol% and 41 vol%, respectively) at 900°C. In conclusion, the study revealed that both catalysts enhance the production of H2-rich syngas, with limestone proving to be the superior catalyst.