Gasification of sunflower seed pulp for the synthesis of hydrogen-rich products

Abstract

Gasification of biomass has great potential for satisfying the ever-growing demand for a clean and renewable energy source. In this study, sunflower seed pulp, a waste product of sunflower oil factories, was gasified using K2CO3 as a catalyst and dry air as a gasifying agent. Effects of reaction temperature, dry air flow rate and catalyst ratio on the gas product composition were investigated. The highest hydrogen yield (5.45 mol/kg biomass) was achieved at 750 °C, with the addition of 20 wt.% K2CO3 and with a dry air flow rate of 3 L/h.