マイクロ波プラズマ反応を用いたバイオマスの転換(<特集>放電・プラズマを用いたプロセスの新展開)

概要

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The plasma state can be obtained easily by irradiating a gas under reduced pressure with microwaves. Plasmas obtained in this way are used in various areas. Dry etching, a process used in semiconductor manufacturing, is one type of application of the plasma state. Highly reactive chemical species that are produced by the microwave plasmas can be used very effectively to facilitate the decomposition of the conversion reaction in which solid phase turns into a gas phase. Two technologies are currently known that can convert plant-based biomass into useful raw materials: (1) conversion of cellulose into anhydrous sugars and (2) conversion into syngas (mixture of CO and H_2) with the ratio of CO/H_2=1 (this ratio results from the biomass'atomic ratio of O/C (=about 0.7) and H/C (=about 1.5)). In this review, to introduce decomposition of biomass induced by microwave plasma, argon was chosen as a microwave plasma source because argon does not get consumed during reaction. As biomass base compounds, cellulose and lignin were used. As biomass, sugarcane bagasse and Alaska cedar sawdust were chosen. In this process, the major products are hydrogen and carbon monoxide in cellulose and lignin, as well as sugarcane bagasse and Alaska cedar sawdust.
一般社団法人日本エネルギー学会の論文
2005-06-20