The Biomass Technology Research Laboratory (BTRL) of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), an independent administrative institution, succeeded in a demonstration experiment of CO₂ absorption gasification from biomass in collaboration with the Center for Coal Utilization, Japan (CCUJ), a juridical foundation. Using a 10 kg/day throughput continuous production plant, clean fuel gas without including CO₂ was produced: hydrogen 83 %, methane 15 % and output 0.5 Nm³/h. The successful production in continuous mode will open the way to the biomass utilization at a commercial level.

• While there have been successful cases of clean fuel gas production in batch mode on a laboratory scale, step-up to continuous production has not been readily implemented.
• Continuous production of clean gas without CO₂ is the first feat in the world, and upgrading of gas quality to hydrogen concentration 80 % or higher is also leading the world.

The future efforts will be focused on stable operation, longterm operation and optimization, to establish the prospect for commercial production.