Gasification, one of the thermo-chemical conversion technologies, has been known and researched for the conversion of low graded solid feedstock to gaseous form of fuel. Gasification for obtaining high-valued combustible gas such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide has been focused again due to high oil price with needs of alternative energy. And the gaseous product, known as synthesis gas (syngas) can be effectively utilized in a variety of ways ranging from electricity production to chemical industry. Gasification and melting processes are also operated at high temperatures with the destruction of hazardous components and production of gases, mainly CO and H2, which can be utilized as fuel gas or raw chemicals after cleaning. In this study, sawdust was experimented on in a lab-scale gasification process in order to characterize the gaseous products. At isothermal conditions at a fixed temperatures (800, 1000, 1200oC), the concentrations of CO, H2 and CH4 increased but CO2 and N2 decreased with lower equivalent ratio (ER). C2H6 concentration was varying and not depending upon ER. Carbon conversion efficiency, gas and tar yields increased with increasing ERs. Tar yield was related to carbon conversion efficiency and gas yield.

Simulated waste-derived synthesis gas has been tested for hydrogen production through water gas shift (WGS) reaction in the temperature range of 240oC ~ 400oC over supported Pt catalysts prepared by an incipient wetness impregnation method. MG30, MgO, ZrO2, Al2O3 and CeO2 were employed as supports for WGS reaction in this study. 1 wt.% Pt/ CeO2 catalyst exhibited the highest CO conversion as well as 100% CO2 selectivity. This is due to easier reducibility of Pt/CeO2 and high oxygen mobility and oxygen storage capacitiy of CeO2. Pt/CeO2 catalyst can be a promising catalyst for WGS reaction from waste-derived synthesis gas.

The proper disposal of digestate from biogas plants has been focused while the use of biogas plants to treat organic waste has been considered as a way of green energy production. This study analyzed chemical and biological characteristics of two types of digestates from 6 domestic biogas plants for low cost and environmental recycling. The results showed that separated solids met current standard for compost within organic content, ratio of organic matter and NaCl concentration, although water content and maturity of separated solids did not meet the standard. Total content of N, P2O5 and K2O in separated liquids met current standard for liquefied fertilizer except that in separated liquids from sewage sludge, although NaCl content of separated liquids from food waste exceed the standard. Heavy metal content, coliform count and 2 kinds of harmful microorganisms were also detected below domestic standard for compost and liquefied fertilizer. These results suggested that digestates from biogas plants could be recycled to be fertilizer with additional treatment such as post-composting or salinity removal process.