Biomass is a renewable and carbon neutral. The project, funded by METI, aims to develop the technical feasibility of hydrogen production from woody biomass by steam gasification using CO₂ absorber. The theoretical formula of the reaction is C+2H₂O+CaO→2H₂+CaCO₃, and AIST and CCUJ (Center for Coal Utilization, Japan) observed this phenomenon. Until now, a continuous bench scale unit of 10-20 kg biomass per day was designed and is being constructed (see Figure). It will be operated from the summer, 2003. At laboratory scale batch-test, obtained product gas consisted mainly of hydrogen (>80 mol%) and methane (<20 mol%), and all of CO₂ was absorbed in CaO as CO₂ absorber; no CO₂ was detected in the product gas. The clean gas could be produced in close to theoretical yield.

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