Petcoke gasification: Challenges and future prospects

Abstract

Gasification is a mature technology to convert carbonaceous materials into valuable chemicals, fuel, or power. The technology of coal gasification is well-established; however, it has some inherent drawbacks like high ash content in Indian coal, slagging, and tar formation. Biomass gasification is a promising area, though sustainable and economic supply of raw material, low calorific value, high moisture content, etc. remain challenging issues. On the other hand, there is a considerable production of petcoke from different refineries, which may be used for different purposes including gasification. Petcoke is rich in carbon; hence, it will yield high concentration of syngas (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide) in the total gaseous product. This syngas can be used to generate electricity or produce liquid fuels or chemicals. In this chapter, petcoke gasification technology and the associated issues and challenges are discussed. Some novel ideas as well as future prospects are also discussed. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.