Co-Pyrolysis and Co-Gasification of Biomass and Oil Shale

The European Union has set an ambitious goal to transform to a carbon neutral economy. The present paper focuses on thermal treatment of oil shale and biomass blends that could be considered as an important pathway for achieving the carbon neutral goal locally in Estonia. The concept of co-pyrolysis and co-gasification of biomass and oil shale offers various advantages such as higher liquid product yield and higher char conversion than if the oil shale and biomass particles were processed individually. In the paper, an overview of the planned actions for merging oil shale industry carbon neutral economy is given. The selected approaches are justified with information found in scientific literature and initial experimental results. Further, the possible future developments for gasification and pyrolysis in Estonia are also highlighted.