Hydrogen Production from Biomass-Based Chemical Looping: A Critical Review and Perspectives

Biomass-based chemical looping (BCL) emerges as a highly prospective technique for generating high-purity H-2, distinguished by its minimal energy penalties and potential for negative carbon emissions. However, its industrial implementation faces significant challenges owing to the intricate interactions in solid-gas reactions and the heat and mass management within the reactors. This work comprehensively reviews the current advancements in BCL H-2 production (BCLHP), emphasizing oxygen carrier selection, reactor design, system integration, and techno-economic assessments. It highlights that BCLHP surpasses traditional biomass gasification methods in efficiency, resulting in reduced costs and net negative CO2 emissions (-17.00 kg of CO2/kg of H-2). Fe-based oxides are deemed the most appropriate oxygen carriers; however, their utilization is constrained by high fabrication costs and the absence of scalable synthesis methods. Additionally, the uneven and intricate heat and mass transfer present substantial obstacles to scaling up the redox reactors. These issues collectively elevate construction costs and limit the application of BCLHP to laboratory or pilot scales. Significant technological challenges and research gaps in experimental and modeling studies undermine the reliability of simulation outcomes. Therefore, addressing these challenges necessitates developing suitable oxygen carriers and their scalable production methods, stable redox reactors, and overall system scalability. In conclusion, while BCLHP holds considerable promise for high-purity H-2 production and negative emissions, advancing it to practical applications will require innovative advancements in both the experimental and modeling domains.