Catalytic pyrolysis of biomass for hydrogen rich fuel gas production G. Chen * , J. Andries, H. Spliethoff Section Thermal Power Engineering, Faculty of Design, Engineering and Production, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD, Delft, The Netherlands Received 1 July 2002; accepted 28 October 2002 Abstract Hydrogen is a clean and efficient energy source and is expected to take an important role in future energy demand. A possibly good route to produce hydrogen is by using cheap biomass as a source through thermochemical conversion technology. The paper addresses this topic, and particular attention is paid to the application of catalysts. Several types of catalysts have been investigated in our test rig at wide ranges of operating temperatures, and the results show that the catalyst has a positive influence on the yield of hydrogen rich gas. The hydrogen concentration of pyrolytic gas is considerably improved by some types of catalysts. The results obtained here can be very useful for scale production of hydrogen based on the biomass resource. Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Hydrogen containing gas; Biomass; Pyrolysis; Catalysts 1. Introduction Biomass is the fourth largest source of energy in the world, accounting for about 15% of the worldÕs primary energy consumption and about 38% of the primary energy consumption in de- veloping countries [1]. As is known, biomass is a CO 2 neutral resource in the life cycle, while CO 2 is a primary contributor to the global greenhouse effect. Hence, increasing attention is being paid to biomass as a substitute for fossil fuel to reduce the global greenhouse effect, particularly under the commitment of the Kyoto Protocol. Biomass used as an energy resource can be effi- ciently achieved by thermochemical conversion technology: pyrolysis, gasification or combustion. Energy Conversion and Management 44 (2003) 2289–2296 www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman * Corresponding author. Tel.: +31-15-2786541; fax: +31-15-2787204. E-mail address: g.chen@wbmt.tudelft.nl (G. Chen). 0196-8904/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0196-8904(02)00254-6