6 – Biomass gasification

: The gasification of biomass promises plentiful options for efficient feedstock utilization. Often, the main goal is the provision of energy in the form of heat or power (or cooling) by burning the combustible gases. Another goal of biomass gasification is the generation of synthesis gases for further catalytic synthesis into base chemicals or storable energy carriers such as liquid fuels (methanol, mixed alcohols, Fischer–Tropsch liquids and dimethyl ether) or gaseous fuels such as substitute natural gas (SNG) or hydrogen. This chapter describes the fundamentals of gasification, technological developments and future trends for different sizes of plants and gives an overview of the process chains incorporating biomass gasification.