Optimisation of Microwave-Induced Plasma (MIP) Gasification for the Integration with Fuel Cell Technology

Suthar, Jayan and Gupta, Gaurav and Wang, Xiaodong (2024) Optimisation of Microwave-Induced Plasma (MIP) Gasification for the Integration with Fuel Cell Technology. PhD thesis, School of Engineering.

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Abstract

Innovation and development are essential to mitigate the effects of climate change caused by current waste management and energy generation strategies. This PhD thesis explores the feasibility of integrating microwave-induced plasma (MIP) gasification with a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) to produce low-carbon energy from biomass. The research addresses scaling up the process from a lab setting to a commercial application by testing an alternative material for the dielectric tube, revealing the limitations of the current quartz tube, and observing the plasma filament phenomenon. This thesis investigates the combination of CO2 and steam plasma for gasification, comparing the dry and steam reforming mechanisms for the first time. CO2 plasma promotes CO generation, while steam plasma favours H2 production, with CO being a higher energy carrier, thus increasing overall syngas energy and cold gas efficiency. Batch trials show that pure CO2 plasma yields the highest energy syngas due to high CO production, though significant soot formation occurs at insufficient temperatures. Continuous trials indicate that a 50% steam/50% CO2 plasma mixture achieves the greatest efficiencies, albeit with notable soot generation. The SOFC successfully operates on syngas produced from MIP gasification, with varying performance depending on the syngas composition (H2-dominant or CO-dominant). Despite a 5A operational limit, the findings suggest that integrating MIP gasification with SOFC technology holds significant promise for waste management and energy generation, emerging as a potentially new process to combat climate change.