A multiparametric study was conducted on a hydrogen (H₂) production rig designed to process 0.25 Nm³·h⁻¹ of syngas. The rig consists of two Pd-Ag membrane permeator units and two Pd-Ag membrane reactor units for the water–gas shift (WGS) reaction, enabling a detailed and comprehensive analysis of its performance. The aim was to find the optimal conditions to maximize hydrogen production by WGS and its separation in a pure stream by varying the temperature, pressure, and steam-to-CO ratio (S/CO). Two syngas mixtures obtained from an updraft gasifier using different gasification agents (air–steam and oxy–steam) were used to investigate the effect of gas composition. The performance of the rig was investigated under nine combinations of temperature, pressure, and S/CO in the respective ranges of 300–350 °C, 2–8 bar, and 1.1–2 mol·mol⁻¹, as planned with the help of design of experiment (DOE) software. The three parameters positively affected performance, both in terms of capacity to separate a pure stream of H₂, reported as moles permeated per unit of surface area and time, and in producing new H₂ from WGS, reported as moles of H₂ produced per volume of catalyst unit and time. The highest yields were obtained using syngas from oxy–steam gasification, which had the highest H₂ concentration and was free of N₂.

The use of biochar derived from agricultural wood waste represents a promising long-term carbon storage strategy, contributing to mitigation of climate change effects while offering agronomic benefits. This residue is considered as an appropriate material since it does not compete directly with the food chain. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a widely recognized methodology to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a product, process or service. In this study, the potential environmental impact of biochar production and its application on soil have been assessed employing a cradle-to-grave approach. The biochar was produced through the pyrogasification of residual lignocellulosic biomass in a pilot-scale plant. The LCA model has been generated employing the GaBi software (LCA for experts 10.7), in accordance with ISO LCA standards and ILCD Handbook, using the experimental results collected during the test carried out in the pilot plant. Two scenarios have been discussed: a basic scenario, involving the biochar production and application on the soil, and an improved scenario, in which by-products from biochar production are used to replace energy in thermal processes. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) of biochar production resulted in −5.52 kg CO₂ eq./kg of biochar including the sequestered carbon during plant growth and 1.81 kg CO₂ eq./kg of biochar stored in soil and the heat recovery resulted in approximately 20 MJ/kg of biochar of avoided consumption of fossil-based fuels. These findings provide additional support to evaluate biochar potential as an environmentally beneficial solution.