// AER biomass gasification

Of the renewable energies, biomass is the only carbon-based source. Therefore, biomass is predestined to provide carbon based fuels for mobility, energy storage and material utilisation. Using the absorption-enhanced reforming (AER) process, biogenic residues can be efficiently transformed into a hydrogen-rich product gas (H2 content > 60 vol.%). The composition of the AER product gas makes it suitable for generating renewable carbon based fuels, such as substitute natural gas (SNG). In the AER process, limestone particles act as natural fluidised bed material that circulates between the gasification and combustion reactor. The bed material transports heat from the combustion zone to the gasification zone, whereby the burnt limestone binds the CO2 created in the gasification zone and has a catalytic effect on the gasification reactions. A reactive but stable bed material is therefore of great importance for an efficient and secure gasification process.

In order to advance the technical implementation of the AER process on a commercial scale, fundamental aspects and bed material properties are being studied under reaction conditions typical for the process in the new fluidised twin-bed reactor. Important target values to be measured include the mechanical stability of the bed material, the material ageing, the CO2 sorption behaviour and the catalytic activity (water gas shift reaction). During the test, the temperature, gas composition, bed material mass and the solid material circulation are chosen to reflect reality as much as possible. The process analysis draws on comprehensive measurement technology as well as pre- and post-analyses of the bed material.