Hydrogen-Rich Syngas Production from Waste Textile Gasification Coupling with Catalytic Reforming under Steam Atmosphere

The average annual global production of waste textiles exceeds 92 million tons, with the majority landfilled and incinerated, resulting in energy waste and environmental pollution. In this study, a thermal conversion process for waste textiles by gasification coupling with catalytic reforming under a steam atmosphere was proposed. The gasification performance of the waste textiles jumped with the introduction of steam and catalyst compared to pyrolysis at 800 °C. The syngas yield increased from 20.86 to 80.97 mmol/g and the hydrogen concentration increased from 17.79 to 50.91 vol.%, which was an increase of 288.12% and 186.18%, respectively. The excellent gasification performance mainly came from two sources: steam promotion for volatiles production and Fe-N-BC promotion for steam reforming of volatiles by Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Fe-Nx, etc. This study has achieved the efficient production of hydrogen-rich syngas from waste textiles, providing a new idea and theoretical basis for the effective removal and utilization of waste textiles.