Biomass Gasification: Thermal Behaviour and Kinetic Modelling

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass gasification is a vital thermochemical pathway for converting renewable organic resources into syngas, which can be utilized for power generation, biofuels, hydrogen production, and various industrial chemicals. As the world transitions toward sustainable and low-carbon energy systems, understanding and improving the thermal behavior and reaction kinetics of biomass gasification becomes increasingly essential for efficient and scalable process design.

This Special Issue, “Biomass Gasification: Thermal Behaviour and Kinetic Modelling”, aims to present recent advances in modeling, simulation, and experimental investigations that shed light on the complex physicochemical processes governing biomass conversion. Thermal decomposition mechanisms, reaction kinetics, gas yield predictions, tar reduction strategies, and reactor design optimizations are just a few aspects critical to the development of high-performance gasification systems. Emphasis will be placed on both fundamental insights and practical modeling approaches that facilitate the design, control, and optimization of gasification processes across multiple reactor configurations (e.g., fixed-bed, fluidized-bed, entrained-flow).

This Special Issue invites original research and review articles that contribute to our understanding of the thermal degradation behavior, kinetic modeling, simulation tools, and scale-up of biomass gasification systems. Contributions that couple experimental data with mechanistic modeling, or that propose new kinetic models validated across various operating conditions, are particularly welcome. To enhance research transparency and reproducibility, authors are encouraged to submit their simulation files, kinetic parameter datasets, reaction schemes, and modeling codes as Supplementary Materials or to host them on open-access repositories (e.g., PSEcommunity.org).

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Thermal decomposition analysis of lignocellulosic and algal biomass;
• Reaction kinetics of biomass pyrolysis, combustion, and gasification;
• Development and validation of kinetic models (e.g., single-step, multi-step, Langmuir–Hinshelwood-type);
• Computational modeling and simulation of biomass gasifiers;
• Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of kinetic parameters;
• Coupled transport and reaction modeling in gasification reactors;
• Tar formation, evolution, and mitigation strategies;
• Integration of biomass gasification with other energy systems (e.g., CHP, fuel cells);
• Scale-up strategies and techno-economic analysis of gasification systems;
• Data-driven or hybrid modeling approaches combining AI/ML and physical models.

Dr. An-Chi Huang
Dr. Juan Zhai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.