Poison-Tolerant WGS Catalyst for Biomass-Coal Co-Gasification Systems

Gasification technologies convert coal and biomass into synthesis gas feed streams that can be used as a chemical feedstock to Coal-Biomass-to-Liquids (CBTL) processes. The CBTL process can produce transportation fuels and value added chemicals. It uses domestic feedstock, has a greenhouse gas footprint better than conventional coal or petroleum fuels, and is projected to be economical at world oil price significantly below the existing level of $82 per barrel (IEC, November 2009). The commercialization of the CBTL technologies requires the development of clean-up and purification processes that can virtually eliminate these contaminants from the synthesis gas feed stock. While the gas clean-up is vital to protect the catalysts, it will also increase the cost of the CBTL process, and the more stringent the removal requirements are, the more the gas clean-up will cost. Therefore, it is desirable to develop catalysts that can resist poisoning to reduce the extent and severity of the gas clean-up process. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) proposes to develop a highly active and cost effective water-gas-shift catalyst that is tolerant to the contaminants in the synthesis gas streams generated by coal and biomass co-gasification. In Phase I, we will prepare various catalyst formulations and screen them to determine their activity and selectivity in WGS process. Based on the performance results, we will carry out a detailed engineering and cost analysis to assess the technical and economic viability of the new technology. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The contaminant tolerant WGS catalyst will provide a cost effective way to adjust the CO:H2 ratio of the synthesis gases generated by coal-biomass co-gasification. Because of its high activity even at low temperatures, we also expect that the new catalyst will find immediate use in the fuel processors of the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems.