Tar Removal From Biomass‐Derived Syngas via Scrubbing: A Review on Process and Modeling

ABSTRACT Tars in biomass‐derived syngas cause fouling, clogging, and equipment degradation in downstream systems, making their removal essential across all utilization pathways, from combined heat and power to chemical synthesis. Among the available removal strategies, wet gas scrubbing has gained widespread adoption owing to its operational simplicity, scalability, and proven effectiveness. This review assesses the current state of tar scrubbing technology, drawing on plant experience from Güssing, Petten, and Gothenburg to illustrate how scrubber design, solvent selection, and process integration collectively determine removal performance. Oil‐based systems are shown to be robust and broadly effective across a wide range of tar compounds. However, synthesis‐grade gas quality typically requires multistage configurations with solvent recycling and regeneration. Thermodynamic modeling approaches are further evaluated, identifying persistent gaps in physicochemical property data, particularly binary interaction parameters for tar–solvent systems. Future development should focus on application‐specific cleaning concepts, reliable regeneration, and improved system integration.