Room: Poster Area
Date: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Time: 16:15 - 17:15 CEST
Session code 5AV.4
Innovation in advanced processes for biofuels production: materials, mechanisms, and performances (part 2)
Experimental Study on the Role of Biochar as a Catalyst and Solid Carbon Adsorbent in Hydrogen Production via HDPE Pyrolysis
Short Introductive summary
The rapid expansion of industrial activity and fossil fuel consumption has accelerated atmospheric CO2 accumulation, driving global climate change. Hydrogen (H2) has emerged as a key carbon-free energy carrier, and turquoise hydrogen production via hydrocarbon or plastic pyrolysis offers dual benefits of greenhouse gas reduction and energy storage. Among waste plastics, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is difficult to recycle mechanically, making thermochemical conversion an attractive route for hydrogen recovery. However, tar, VOCs, and solid carbon formed during pyrolysis and reforming cause catalyst deactivation. This study investigates biochar, a carbon-rich solid derived from biomass pyrolysis, as a catalyst and solid-carbon adsorbent in HDPE pyrolysis-based hydrogen production. Biochars produced at 700–900 °C were evaluated in a multi-stage reactor system, and product yields were analyzed to assess hydrogen selectivity and tar suppression. Compared with non-catalytic and Al2O3-bed conditions, biochar significantly reduced tar formation and increased non-condensable gas yields above 90%, with hydrogen fraction rising notably at higher temperatures.
Presenter
Seungyeon LEE
Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
K. Cho, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Cheon-an, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Y. Lee, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Cheon-an, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Session reference: 5AV.4.13