Characterization and Reactivity Study of Coal Bottom Ash for Utilization in Biomass Gasification as an Adsorbent/Catalyst for Cleaner Fuel Production

The objective of this study is to determine the catalytic potential and adsorption characteristics of coal bottomash (CBA) for utilization in biomass gasification for cleaner fuel production. The analysis shows the presence of metals such asFe, Al, Ca, and Mg in CBA that have been used as common elements of catalysts in gasification. The surface of CBA is porousand consists of irregular shape particles and crystalline structure determined using characterization techniques. The surface area(51.02 m2 /g), pore volume (0.1 cm3/g), and pore width (3.03 nm) of CBA were determined using Brunauer−Emmett−Telleranalysis. The reactivity of CBA in a CO2 environment at 500, 600, 700, and 800 °C is measured through thermogravimetricanalysis, and variation in chemical composition of all metal oxides and CaO is measured after CO2 treatment. The CBA adsorbsabout 1.15 and 1.51 wt % of CO 2 at 25 and 60 °C in high-pressure volume adsorption tests. The highest weight loss of about14% occurs at a heating rate of 10 °C/min in a N2 atmosphere. Thermal analysis confirms its stability at a high temperatureabove 600 °C, which is a good sign for its utilization as a catalyst as gasification mostly takes place between 600 and 1100 °C. Inbiomass steam gasification, the H 2 production is increased from 29.29 to 36.24 vol % with the use of CBA at a temperature of700 °C and steam/biomass ratio of 0.5. It shows the potential of the cleaner and sustainable utilization of CBA.