Hydrogen Production via Pyrolytic Degradation of Agricultural Residues

Abstract

Hydrogen will play an important role in the future energy economy mainly as a storage and transportation medium for renewable energy sources. Thermochemical conversion processes such as pyrolysis, steam gasification and decarbonization of lignocellulosic materials have the potential to be cost competitive with conventional means of producing hydrogen. Hydrogen is produced from agricultural residues by pyrolysis. The effect of Na 2 CO 3 as an alkali on pyrolysis depends on the residue sample species and structural composition of the agricultural residue. The total volume and the yield of gas from the pyrolysis increase with increasing temperature. The yield of hydrogen from hemicelluloses is higher than that of cellulose or lignin at lower temperatures while the yield of hydrogen from lignin is higher than that of hemicelluloses or cellulose at higher temperatures.