From Waste to Clean Fuel: Using Microwave Chemistry to Achieve Process Decarbonization

Microwave co-gasification of plastics and biomass has several advantages over conventional gasification, including enhanced hydrogen production and greater solid-to-gas conversion, as opposed to undesirable char and tar -- via process electrification route. A previous study at NETL has revealed the efficient role of microwave heating, which can liberate the oxygenated free radicals and encourage bond cleavage in non-microwave active plastics, if combined with microwave-active corn stover. However, further reduction of the unwanted tar must be achieved for future process scale-up and higher energy efficiency, which can be realized via a microwave-assisted catalytic approach. This continuous study investigates a series of microwave-active Fe catalysts that can efficiently enhance H2 production and reduce tar for plastic-corn stover co-gasification. The results suggest that in presence of magnetite, hydrogen yield increase 100% as compared to non-catalytic system at similar reaction conditions.