Microwave plasma studies of Spirulina algae pyrolysis with relevance to hydrogen production

Microwave plasma studies of Spirulina algae pyrolysis with relevance to hydrogen production

Type	Journal Article
Author	Kuang C. Lin
Author	Yuan-Chung Lin
URL	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544213008219
Volume	64
Pages	567-574
Publication	Energy
Date	January 1, 2014
Abstract	Understanding how biomass is converted to hydrogen gas can help evaluate opportunities for reducing the environmental impact of petroleum-based fuels. Using an atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma reactor coupled with species-selective analysis, researchers performed experiments at microwave power levels of 800, 900 and 1000 W, a reactant flow rate of 12 slm, and 1 g of dry Spirulina algae in nitrogen. At the absorbed microwave power levels used in this experiment, hydrogen gas produced is in the range of 36.75–45.13% volume fraction, 13.42–15.48 mg per minute, and 12.37–31.46 mg per gram of Spirulina algae consumed. Moreover, the selection of power levels demonstrates that 20.62–52.43% hydrogen atom mass content in dry algae is converted to hydrogen gas. In general, the effect of reaction temperatures on the gas product formation is qualitatively consistent with those produced from other biomass materials reported in literature.