31

A publication of

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS

VOL. 50, 2016 The Italian Association
of Chemical Engineering
Online at www.aidic.it/cet
Guest Editors: Katharina Kohse-Höinghaus, Eliseo Ranzi
Copyright © 2016, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.,
ISBN 978-88-95608-41-9; ISSN 2283-9216 DOI: 10.3303/CET1650006

Catalytic Gasification of Pinewood in Hydrothermal Conditions

for Hydrogen Production
Sonil Nandaa, Menina Casalinob, Manmeet Singh Loungiab, Ajay K. Dalaic,
Iskender Gökalpd, Janusz A. Kozinskia*
a
Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, Toronto, ON,
Canada
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
c
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada
d
Institut de Combustion Aérothermique Réactivité et Environnement (ICARE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
(CNRS), Orléans, France
janusz.kozinski@lassonde.yorku.ca

Lignocellulosic biomasses are gaining attention for biofuel production to supplement the increasing energy
demands. This study is focused on identifying the candidacy of pinewood for hydrogen production through
subcritical (300°C), near-critical (370°C) and supercritical (550°C) water gasification. Pinewood was gasified to
study the impacts of temperature (300-550°C), feed concentration (20-30 wt%) and reaction time (20-60 min).
The effects of metal catalysts (e.g., Ni/Al2O3, Ru/Al2O3, NaOH and KOH) were also examined to maximize
hydrogen yields and carbon gasification efficiency. The individual gas yields, total gas yields and lower heating
values were calculated for comparative evaluation between subcritical, near-critical and supercritical water
gasification as well as between catalytic and non-catalytic gasification of pinewood. Supercritical water
gasification at higher temperatures (550°C), longer reaction time (60 min) and lower feed concentration (20
wt%) improved water-gas shift reaction resulting in high hydrogen yields. Greater yields of hydrogen (0.52
3
mmol/g) and total gases (6.4 mmol/g) with lower heating value of 423 kJ/Nm was found with 20 wt% of
pinewood at 550°C and 60 min. Ni/Al2O3 at a concentration of 5 wt% showed highest yields for hydrogen (2.54
mmol/g) in the gas products when compared to other catalysts. The catalytic activity towards hydrogen
production decreased as Ni/Al2O3 > KOH > Ru/Al2O3 > NaOH. The findings imply that pinewood is a promising
feedstock for hydrogen production by supercritical water gasification.

1. Introduction
The consumption of fossil fuels is responsible for the increase in greenhouse gas emissions which have a
great impact on the environment and moreover, lead to global warming. In addition to the resulting harmful
environmental effects caused by fossil fuels, its limited supply motivates the proposition of an alternate source.
The growing need for a renewable energy supply to replace fossil fuels shows a path to produce a clean form
of fuel for transportation and other energy utilities. Fuels derived from waste biomass are considered to be
carbon-neutral as the net CO2 released during the combustion process is reused by plants during
photosynthesis (Nanda et al., 2014).
Hydrogen (H2) is also a clean fuel as its combustion results in water. It can be generated from lignocellulosic
biomass through hydrothermal gasification. This makes it more attractive compared to other gaseous fuels,
however; it is not readily available in nature and is generated through the reformation of natural gas. H2 is a
clean, energy dense and versatile fuel with highest energy content (120 MJ/kg) compared to conventional
fuels. It can be produced from biomass through thermochemical conversion (pyrolysis and gasification),
biological conversion (biophotolysis, photo-fermentation and dark fermentation) and electrolysis (Holladay et
al., 2009).

Please cite this article as: Nanda S., Casalino M., Singh Loungia M., Dalai A.K., Gokalp I., Kozinski J., 2016, Catalytic gasification of pinewood
in hydrothermal conditions for hydrogen production, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 50, 31-36 DOI: 10.3303/CET1650006
32

Manipulation of lignocellulosic biomass through gasification processes is a viable option for producing H2.
When compared to other methods of biomass conversion, thermochemical gasification consumes large
amounts of energy. Supercritical water (or hydrothermal) gasification, on the other hand, is energy efficient
and does not require the biomass to undergo drying procedures and other pre-treatments, thereby reducing
process expenditure (Reddy et al., 2014). Lignocellulose biomass components can break down into simple
molecules during supercritical water gasification (SCWG) to produce synthetic gas or syngas. Syngas (H2 and
CO), the main product of the SCWG process, can be used as clean fuel or for the production of diesel fuel
through gas-to-liquid (GTL) methods such as Fischer-Tropsch catalysis or syngas fermentation.
Depending on the critical temperature (TC) and critical pressure (PC) of water, hydrothermal gasification
processes can involve subcritical (TC < 374°C and PC < 22.1 MPa), near-critical (TC ~ 374°C and PC ~ 22.1
MPa) and supercritical (TC > 374°C and PC > 22.1 MPa) water. However, supercritical water (SCW) imparts
enhanced mass and heat transfer properties with higher solvation potential. SCW is an ideal solvent for
biomass processing and conversion because of its liquid-like densities and gas-like transport properties.
SCWG has been immensely researched for the hydrothermal conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to
generate H2-rich gas products.
This paper focuses on the analysis of hydrothermal gasification performed with wood shavings of Pinus
banksiana, commonly known as jack pine, which is native to Canada and the United States. The experiments
are performed over a wide range of operating conditions such as temperature, pressure, residence time, feed
concentration and catalysts. This paper presents an overview of the effects of each parameter on the
hydrothermal gasification of pinewood with regards to the overall reaction mechanisms and H2 yields.

2. Experimental
2.1 Biomass

Pinewood (Pinus banksiana) used in this study was obtained from Saskatchewan, Canada. As reported by
Nanda et al. (2013), pinewood contained 48.9 wt% carbon, 6.2 wt% hydrogen, 0.1 wt% nitrogen, 0.1 wt%
sulfur and 42.5 wt% oxygen. Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin compositions in pinewood were 38.8 wt%,
23.6 wt% and 20.4 wt%, respectively. Pinewood was crushed to a particle size of 0.5 mm prior to its
hydrothermal gasification.
2.2 Hydrothermal gasification

Hydrothermal gasification was performed in a stainless steel batch tubular reactor (length: 10 in., outer
diameter: 0.5 in. and inner diameter: 0.37 in.). The schematics of the gasification reactor and its operational
procedures have been comprehensively described by Nanda et al. (2016). The gasification reactor assembly
consisted of pressure gauge, pressure relief valve, split furnace, tubular reactor, Type-K thermocouple, check
valve, 2 µm filter and gas-liquid separator. All the tubing and accessories were of SS 316 grade and
purchased from Swagelok® (Swagelok Central Ontario, Canada). Nitrogen gas was used as the inert gas to
create an initial reactor pressure of 10-15 MPa depending on gasification temperature. The syngas was
collected in gas sampling Tedlar® bags (Environmental Sampling Supply, USA). Hydrothermal gasification of
pinewood was performed at a pressure range of 23-25 MPa to investigate the impacts of temperature (300-
550°C), feed concentration (20-30 wt%) and residence time (20-60 min). For catalytic gasification
experiments, heterogeneous catalysts (e.g., Ni/Al2O3 and Ru/Al2O3) and homogeneous catalysts (e.g., NaOH
and KOH) were employed at concentrations of 3-6 wt%.
2.3 Characterization of gas and char

The gases were analysed in an Agilent 7820A gas chromatography (Agilent Technologies, USA). The system
was equipped with a thermal conductivity detector consisting of three packed columns and one capillary
column. The Ultimetal HayesepQ T 80/100 mesh column identified H2, CO and CH4, whereas Ultimetal
Hayesep T 80/100 mesh column quantified CO2 and C2H6. Argon was used as the carrier gas with a column
temperature of 60°C. The individual gas yield (in mmol/g) was determined as the moles of each gas per mole
of pinewood. The total gas yield (in mmol/g) was calculated as the moles of total gas products collected per
3
gram of pinewood. The lower heating value or LHV (in kJ/Nm ) of the gas phase was estimated using the
formula described elsewhere (Nanda et al., 2016). Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy of
pinewood and its biochars was performed using a Bruker Alpha FT-IR spectrometer (Bruker Optics Ltd,
-1
Canada). Different surface organic functional groups were analyzed in the infrared range of 500-3500 cm
with an average of 24 scans. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of pinewood biochar was performed using
an FEI Quanta 3D FEG DualBeam microscope (FEI Company, USA) operated at 20 kV under high vacuum.
 33

3. Results and Discussion

Pinewood was gasified at 300-550°C for 40 min to study the effect of subcritical, near-critical and supercritical
water temperatures at 23-25 MPa. With the rise in temperature from 300 to 550°C, H2 yield increased from 0.9
to 2.52 mmol/g (Figure 1a). The yields of CO2 (4.92 mmol/g), CH4 (1.2 mmol/g) and C2H6 (0.62 mmol/g) also
increased at 550°C. The total gas yield increased from 3.5 mmol/g at 300°C to 9.6 mmol/g at 550°C with 20
wt% pinewood (Table 1). High gasification temperatures favour water-gas shift reaction resulting in greater
yields of H2 and CO2 (Kruse, 2008). During water-gas shift reaction, CO reacts with water vapour at high
temperatures to produce CO2 and H2. Therefore, CO yield shrunk from 0.8 mmol/g at 300°C to 0.3 mmol/g at
550°C. The temperatures above the critical point (≥ 374°C) lower the water density impacting the ionic product
formation. This phenomenon favours the free-radical mechanism at supercritical temperatures (Guo et al.,
2010). Hence, SCW at high temperatures of 550°C acted as a medium with the complete solubility of organic
compounds resulting in higher gas yields. The LHV of the gas products also increased from 520 to 1135
3
kJ/Nm as the temperature increased (Table 1).

Figure 1: (a) Effect of temperature on hydrothermal gasification of pinewood at 20 wt% feed concentration for
40 min; (b) FT-IR analysis of pinewood and biochar generated at different temperatures

Table 1: Total gas yields and lower heating value of gas products from hydrothermal gasification of pinewood
Gasification conditions Parameters Total gas yield Lower heating value
3
(mmol/g) (kJ/Nm )
Effect of temperature 300°C 3.5 520
(20% pinewood, 40 min) 370°C 6.1 712
550°C 9.6 1135
Effect of feed concentration 20 wt% pinewood 9.6 1135
(550°C, 40 min) 25 wt% pinewood 7.5 1047
30 wt% pinewood 5.6 961
Effect of residence time 20 min 5.2 426
(20 wt% pinewood, 550°C) 40 min 9.6 1135
60 min 11.2 1405
Effect of catalysts 5 wt% Ni/Al2O3 14.2 1835
(20 wt% pinewood, 550°C, 5 wt% Ru/Al2O3 12.9 1619
60 min) 5 wt% NaOH 12.5 1434
5 wt% KOH 13.1 1586
Effect of catalyst 3 wt% Ni/Al2O3 12.4 1601
concentration 4 wt% Ni/Al2O3 13.4 1741
(20 wt% pinewood, 550°C, 5 wt% Ni/Al2O3 14.2 1835
60 min)
6 wt% Ni/Al2O3 14.8 1919
34

Figure 1b shows the FT-IR spectra of pinewood and its biochars generated at 300-550°C with 20 wt% feed
concentration for 40 min. Pinewood contained a few distinctive components such as alcohols, ethers and
-1 -1 -1
esters (1028, 1030 and 1205 cm ), aromatic rings attributed by lignin (1508 cm ), carbonyls (1696 cm ) and
-1
alkanes (2880 cm ). These peaks progressively lost their intensity and disappeared in its biochar as the
gasification temperature increased. The removal of these components was a result of higher SCW
temperatures (550°C) that caused dehydration of organic functional groups, especially C–O, C= O and C–H
(Nanda et al., 2016). Despite the exclusion of these peaks in the biochar, a few other peaks showed
-1
significant intensification such as those of 693 and 791 cm . These two peaks represent C–C aromatic
groups. Higher pyrolysis or gasification temperatures impact aromaticity to the biochar making them thermally
stable as a result of the loss of moisture and volatile components (Peng et al., 2011; Azargohar et al., 2014).
The SEM images of pinewood biochar obtained at 300°C and 550°C are similar to those of the FT-IR spectra
(Figure 2). At 300°C, the pinewood surface displayed a more intact and fibrous structure. However, as the
temperature increased to 550°C, the biochar surface showed a fragmented, porous and more distorted
structure. As a result of increased gasification temperature, the organic components in pinewood decomposed
and dehydrated leading to their loss during this process rending a cracked surface morphology.

Figure 2: SEM image of pinewood biochar produced at 300°C and 550°C for 40 min

Figure 3: (a) Effect of feed concentration on gasification of pinewood at 550°C for 40 min, (b) Effect of
residence time on gasification of 20 wt% pinewood at 550°C

The gasification of pinewood with variable feed concentrations at 550°C for 40 min showed a typical trend in
H2 yields (Figure 3a). The H2 yield at 550°C decreased from 2.52 mmol/g with 20 wt% feed concentration to
1.15 mmol/g with 30 wt% feed concentration. The yields of CO2 and CH4 also decreased while that of CO and
C2H6 increased by 49% and 23% respectively, at 30 wt% feed concentration. The total gas yields at 20 wt%
feed concentration (9.6 mmol/g) was relatively higher than 30 wt% feed concentration (5.6 mmol/g). There
 35

was nearly a 42% decrease in total gas yields with the rise in feed concentration. The LHV of the gas products
decreased from 1135 to 961 kJ/Nm3 as the feed concentration increased from 20 wt% to 30 wt%, respectively
(Table 1). Higher temperatures and lower feed concentration improve free-radical mechanism and steam
reforming reaction in SCWG, thereby increasing H2 and total gas yields (Reddy et al., 2014; Guo et al., 2010).
The effect of residence time on the gasification of 20 wt% pinewood at 550°C is illustrated in Figure 3b. The
H2 yields increased from 0.45 mmol/g at 20 min to 3.05 mmol/g at 60 min of residence time. The total gas
yield at 60 min (11.2 mmol/g) of residence time was relatively higher when compared to that of 20 min (5.2
mmol/g). While the yield of CO declined, the yields for CO2, CH4 and C2H6 amplified with the progression of
residence time. Longer residence time enhances the gas yield by favouring thermal cracking reactions at
higher temperatures (Chen et al., 2003). Higher temperatures and longer residence time favour methanation,
hydrogenation and water-gas shift reaction that proceed at the expense of CO. H2 and CO2 are primarily
produced from water-gas shift reaction, whereas CH4 is predominantly obtained via methanation and
hydrogenation reactions (Kruse, 2008). The LHV was higher for the gases obtained at 60 min (1405 kJ/Nm3)
3 3
compared to that of 20 min (426 kJ/Nm ) and 40 min (1135 kJ/Nm ).

Figure 4: (a) Effect of different catalysts on gasification of 20 wt% pinewood at 550°C for 60 min, (b) Effect of
variable concentrations of Ni/Al2O3 on gasification of 20 wt% pinewood at 550°C for 40 min

The effects of two homogeneous alkali catalysts (NaOH and KOH) as well as two heterogeneous metal
catalysts (Ni/Al2O3 and Ru/Al2O3) were studied to evaluate their H2 maximization potential. Figure 4a shows
the trend of gas yields from 20 wt% pinewood with 5 wt% catalysts at 550°C for 60 min. Among all the
catalysts, Ni/Al2O3 proved to be the most promising candidate due to its high H2 yields. The catalytic activity
based on H2 production from pinewood varied as Ni/Al2O3 (4.54 mmol/g) > KOH (4.12 mmol/g) > Ru/Al2O3
(3.97 mmol/g) > NaOH (3.77 mmol/g). At 5 wt% catalyst concentration, the total gas yields were also highest
in the case of Ni/Al2O3 (14.2 mmol/g) followed by Ru/Al2O3 (12.9 mmol/g), KOH (13.1 mmol/g) and NaOH
3
(12.5 mmol/g) (Table 1). The LHV of the gas products also followed the pattern: NaOH (1434 kJ/Nm ) < KOH
3 3 3
(1586 kJ/Nm ) < Ru/Al2O3 (1619 kJ/Nm ) < Ni/Al2O3 (1835 kJ/Nm ). Similar to H2, Ni/Al2O3 also resulted in
highest CH4 yield of 2.01 mmol/g followed by KOH (1.98 mmol/g). This indicated that nickel not only promotes
water-gas shift reaction but also favours methanation reaction at higher temperatures.
The effects of different concentration of Ni/Al2O3 were investigated to enhance H2 yields (Figure 7b). With
gradual increase in Ni concentration, the H2 yields increased but it stabilized at 5 wt% and lowed at 6 wt%.
More specifically, the H2 yields increased from 3.76 mmol/g at 3 wt% Ni/Al2O3 to 4.54 mmol/g at 5 wt%
Ni/Al2O3 and reduced to 4.49 mmol/g at 6 wt% Ni/Al2O3. The total gas yields varied in the sequence: 3 wt%
Ni/Al2O3 (12.4 mmol/g) < 4 wt% Ni/Al2O3 (13.4 mmol/g) < 5 wt% Ni/Al2O3 (14.2 mmol/g) < 6 wt% Ni/Al2O3
(14.8 mmol/g) (Table 1). While H2, CO2 and CO yields decreased at 6 wt% Ni/Al2O3, the yield of CH4
increased (2.22 mmol/g), and was the highest among all concentrations. This indicated that a higher
concentration of nickel results in secondary reactions such as methanation reaction of CO and CO2. Highest
3
CH4 yields also resulted in maximum LHV of the gas products from 6 wt% Ni/Al2O3 (1919 kJ/Nm ) followed by
3 3 3
5 wt% Ni/Al2O3 (1835 kJ/Nm ), 4 wt% Ni/Al2O3 (1741 kJ/Nm ) and 3 wt% Ni/Al2O3 (1601 kJ/Nm ).
36

4. Conclusions
Pinewood was hydrothermally gasified to study the effects of temperature, feed concentration, residence time
and catalyst concentrations on H2 and total gas yields. The yields of H2 and total gases increased with the rise
in temperature from 300°C to 550°C. High supercritical water temperatures (550°C) caused extreme
degradation of pinewood through dehydration, decarboxylation and bond breakages rendering aromaticity to
3
its biochar. Higher yields of H2 (2.52 mmol/g) and total gases (9.6 mmol/g) with a LHV of 1135 kJ/Nm was
found with 20 wt% pinewood at 550°C and 40 min of residence time. Higher temperatures, longer residence
time and lower feed concentration improved water-gas shift reaction resulting in high H2 yields. A 5 wt%
Ni/Al2O3 application resulted in highest H2 yield of 4.54 mmol/g followed by KOH, Ru/Al2O3 and NaOH. An
increase in Ni/Al2O3 concentration from 3 wt% to 5 wt% enhanced H2 production. However, H2 yield reduced
at 6 wt% Ni/Al2O3 as a result of methanation reaction and higher yield of CH4 (2.22 mmol/g). Due to high CH4
yields, the LHV of the gas product also increased to 1919 kJ/Nm3 at 6 wt% Ni/Al2O3. The results suggest that
pinewood is a promising forestry biomass for the catalytic hydrothermal gasification to produce H2-rich syngas.

Acknowledgments
We thank Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for funding this project.

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