Reactivity tests of the water–gas shift reaction on fresh and used fluidized bed materials from industrial DFB biomass gasifiers

The dual fluidized bed gasification process, offers various advantages for biomass gasification as well as the utilization of other solid feedstocks. In order to improve the knowledge of the reactions in fluidized bed gasifier, different types of bed material used in the gasifier were tested in a micro-reactivity test rig. It has been previously observed that during long-term operation, the surface of the bed material used (calcined olivine) undergoes a modification that improves catalytic activity. The main reaction of interest is the water–gas shift reaction. Olivine taken from long-term operation at the 8 MW biomass gasifier at Güssing (Austria), fresh olivine as a reference, and calcite, which is commonly used for enhancing in-bed catalytic tar reduction, were tested using the micro-reactivity test rig. Tests were carried out at temperatures of 800, 850, and 900 °C and space velocities of 40,000 to 50,000 h−1 were applied. CO conversions of up to 61.5% were achieved for calcite. Used olivine showed a similar behavior, representing a large improvement compared to fresh olivine, which had CO conversion rates of less than 20%.