Whisker carbon formation in catalytic steam reforming of biomass gasification gas

Whisker carbon formation in the steam reforming of biomass gasification gas was studied in a laboratory scale reactor using two commercial nickel catalysts, precious metal catalyst and inert materials. The synthetic feed gas contained ethylene, tar model compounds and H₂S as impurities. Whisker carbon was formed below the reaction temperature of 700 °C on an calcium-doped nickel catalyst and below 850 °C on an undoped nickel catalyst when the feed gas contained no sulfur. With the addition of more than 50 ppmv of H₂S in the feed gas, the whisker carbon formation was inhibited. Thermodynamic calculations were carried out to estimate the upper limit temperature for the whisker carbon formation but the calculations did not correlate well with the experimental results. One of the probable explanations for this was the high concentration of unsaturated C₂₊ hydrocarbons in the feed gas.