Gasification of cellulose over Rh/CeO2/SiO2 catalysts:: Combustion of coke and reforming of tar

The conventional methods for biomass gasification to hydrogen and synthesis gas are carried out at high temperature. Recently Rh/CeO2 based catalysts has been shown to be very effective for the catalytic gasification of cellulose at low reaction temperatures. The catalyst performance of Rh/CeO2/SiO2 catalysts was investigated using a continuous feed fluidized bed reactor and cellulose as a model compound of biomass. The performance of the Rh/CeO2/SiO2 catalysts was very dependent on the loading amount of CeO2, so the optimum loading was determined. Furthermore, analysis of the product distribution over various catalysts suggests that coke is removed by combustion with oxygen and tar is converted to synthesis gas via the reforming reaction. The low temperature catalytic gasification of cellulose requires high catalyst activity for combustion and reforming, and our optimized catalyst showed adequate activities for both reactions.