Sulphonated nano-structured micro-porous ion exchange polymers, known as sulphonated PolyHIPE Polymers (s-PHPs) were used in syngas
cleaning to investigate their impact on tar composition, concentration and dew point depression during the gasification of fuel cane bagasse
as a model biomass. The results showed that the s-PHPs used as a secondary syngas treatment system, was highly effective at adsorbing and
reducing the concentration of all class of tars in syngas by 95%–80% which resulted in tar dew point depression from 90 ◦C to 73 ◦C. It was
shown that tars underwent chemical reactions within s-PHPs, indicating that tar diffusion from syngas was driven by chemical potential. It
was also observed that s-PHPs also captured ash forming elements from syngas. The use of s-PHPs in gasification as well as in an integrated
thermochemical biorefinery technology is discussed since the tar loaded s-PHPs can be used as natural herbicides in the form of soil additives
to enhance the biomass growth and crop yield.