Hydrogen rich syngas production from steam gasification of citrus peel residues

The growing need to reduce the environmental impact of the modern lifestyle imposes a continuous development of novel technologies aimed at a severe reduction of pollutant emissions in order to ensure a tolerable quality of life in metropolitan areas. Among potential alternatives, particular attention has been recently addressed toward the exploitation of residual biomass and wastes as sources for syngas production by thermo-chemical processes for heat and power production. In this context citrus peel residues produced by Sicilian agro-industrial activities represent a significant amount of wastes, approximately 200,000 t/year [1], that could be valorized by gasification process. Hence, the aim of this research was to investigate about the feasibility to produce hydrogen rich syngas from dry citrus peel through steam reforming gasification. In particular, effect of gasification temperature (650-800°C) and steam to biomass ratio (1<= S/B <=2 wt/wt) were explored in terms both syngas composition and H2/(CO2+CO) selectivity. Results were also compared to thermodynamic data in order to gain information about the efficacy of the experimental method used. Lastly experiments were also investigated from the hydrogen yield point of view.