Pyrolytic char as a catalyst carrier has been widely used in tar removal. This paper aimed to develop a cost-effective and eco-friendly tar steam reforming approach by using waste peat char supported Ca catalysts in a laboratory dual-stage reactor. Tar model compound toluene was used in steam reforming experiment for facilitate fundamental research. The reaction temperature, residence time, steam-to-carbon ratio and the molar ratios of H-2, CO, CO2 and CH4 in the generated gas were investigated. Experimental results show that the peat char supported Ca catalysts had good selectivity for H-2, especially the catalyst which activated by KOH and CO2. The catalyst demonstrated better catalytic activity with a higher residence time (0.6 s-0.7 s) and S/C ratio (S/C > 2.5). Under the optimized conditions, the toluene conversion and the mol% of H-2 can reached 94.4% and 68.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, the activity of the catalyst was proved by a variety of performance tests, and the deactivation and mechanism of catalysts were investigated. Finally, these cost-effective and green peat char-supported Ca catalysts could be used for tar removal. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.