Treatment of biomass tar by CO2 plasma

The tar produced in the process of biomass gasification would not only corrode the pipelines and equipment, but also reduce the efficiency of biomass gasification. Traditional methods, such as physical treatment and thermal cracking, have deficiencies which severely restrict their application. This article achieved efficient transformation (carbon yield >90%) from benzene and naphthalene, regarded as model compounds of biomass tar, to syngas using CO₂ plasma on self-designed rotating arc plasma torch, proving the feasibility of CO₂ plasma treatment of biomass tar. Further analysis on the composition of practical biomass tar and the investigation of biomass tar gasification were carried out. Water content in biomass tar could be used as gasification agent and control the H₂/CO scale (0.3—1). The above results provide new ideas for the development of biomass tar harmlessness and resource utilization technology.