Direct Solar-Powered Biomass Gasification Using Low-Temperature Steam

This work is aimed at coupling the concentrating solar technology with the biomass gasification. The main issue is that the biomass gasification occurs at temperatures of the order of 800-900°C, whereas the available technology in concentrating solar power plants using thermal fluids allows to achieve temperatures of 550-600°C. Different elements are needed to be effective: (1) the detailed characterization of biomass pyrolysis and the successive gas phase reactions; (2) the selection of appealing biomass gasification technologies (i.e., traveling grate, countercurrent); (3) the integration with discontinuous energy sources (concentrating solar); (4) the definition of proper thermal energy storage; and (5) the study of effective operational procedures to achieve direct solar powered biomass gasification.