Catalytic supercritical water gasification of black liquor along with lignocellulosic biomass

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is a novel technology for environmental pollution management and hydrogen production from biomass and wastes. In this study, the SCWG of black liquor (BL) which is high-potential biomass and rich in alkalis was investigated. The experiments were conducted in a batch reactor at 350–400 °C, reaction time of 1–60 min, and constant concentration of 9 wt% of BL in the absence and presence of heterogeneous catalysts (3–5 wt%), lignocellulosic biomass, and formic acid (5 and 7 wt %) in three parts. First, the SCWG of BL was performed without any additive. The experimental results showed that the maximum production of H2, CO2, and CH4 was obtained at the highest temperature and reaction time; 400 °C and 60 min. The hydrogen yield was also enhanced by increasing the temperature, and reached 3.51 mol H2/kg dry ash free-black liquor (DAF-BL) at 400 °C. Reaction time increment improved the gas product and gasification efficiency up to 28.03 mmol and 21.73%, respectively. Subsequently, three heterogeneous catalysts (MnO2, CuO, and TiO2) were used, however 5 wt% of MnO2 was the best catalyst, significantly improving the hydrogen yield compared to the same condition of BL gasification without a catalyst. Hydrogen yield reached 5.09 mol H2/kg (DAF-BL) at 400 °C and the reaction time of 10 min. Finally, BL with poplar wood residue as a lignocellulosic biomass and formic acid was gasified separately and the highest hydrogen yield was obtained in the case of 5 wt% of formic acid (10.79 mol H2/kg (DAF-BL)). Overally, SCWG dramatically reduced the chemical oxygen demand of BL to 76% using 5 wt% of formic acid.