In char-CO2 gasification, the highly endothermic nature of the Boudouard reaction (CO2 (g) + C (s) $ 2CO
(g)) dictates use of very high temperatures to shift the equilibrium towards CO production. In this study,
such high temperature (750–900 C) was provided by microwave irradiation. A microwave heating
system was developed to perform the gasification tests by passing CO2 through a packed bed of oil palm
shell (OPS) char. In order to speed up the microwave-induced CO2 gasification, ash of palm empty fruit
bunch (EFB) was used as natural catalyst (rich in potassium) and incorporated into the skeleton of the OPS
char. The synergistic effect of microwave and catalyst concluded to very encouraging results, where a CO2
conversion of 93% was achieved at 900 C, within 60 min microwave gasification. In comparison, CO2
conversion in thermal gasification (conventional heating) of pristine OPS char was only 58% under the
same operating condition.