H2 and syngas production from catalytic cracking of pig manure and compost pyrolysis vapor over Ni-based catalysts

Catalytic cracking of volatiles derived from wet pig manure (WPM), dried pig manure and their compost was investigated over Ni/Al₂O₃  and Ni-loaded on lignite char (Ni/C). Non-catalytic pyrolysis of WPM resulted in a carbon conversion of 43.3% and 18.5% in heavy tar and light tar, respectively. No tar was formed when Ni/Al₂O₃  was introduced for WPM gasification and the gas yield significantly reached to a high value of 64.4 mmol/g at 650°C. When Ni/C was employed, 5.9% of carbon in the light tar was found at 650°C, revealing that the Ni/C is not active enough for cracking of tarry materials. The pyrolysis vapor was cracked completely and gave a H₂-rich tar free syngas in high yield. High water amount of WPM promotes steam gasification of char support, causing the deactivation of Ni/C. Such a study may be beneficial to the development of livestock manure catalytic gasification technology.