By dry gasification of biomass a synthesis gas is produced which possesses a H₂/CO ratio of <2. If gasification is conducted at high pressure, only the starting material or the oxygen must be compressed and the obtained synthesis gas can be used to directly produce liquid fuels or chemicals. The potential to increase efficiency of the entire conversion chain from biomass / waste into valuable product would be enormous if also the conditioning, i.e. the adjustment to a 2:1 H₂/CO ratio, of the synthesis could be conducted at high pressure and at a temperature level above the synthesis process with help of the water vapor which is contained in the synthesis gas (a part of the biomass is completely burned to H₂O and CO₂).

Due to the high heat transfer rates in microreactors, the exothermic water gas shift reaction can be precisely controlled in temperature. A simple control of the chemical reaction and a compact system with high thermal efficiency can be obtained for the abovementioned application.

In the project ProShift, funded by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, the demonstration of a microreactor with a total flow of 5 m³/h STP synthesis gas under conditions of a biomass gasifier is currently ongoing.

Coating of a microchannel structure with catalyst for the water gas shift reaction