Calcined limestone (CaO) and calcined dolomite (CaO center dot MgO) were tested at bench scale to study their usefulness in cleaning hot raw gas from a fluidized bed gasifier of a synthetic or simulated refuse-derived fuel (RDF) with a high (3 wt%) content in chlorine. In the gas cleaning reactor two main reactions occurred simultaneously: the elimination of HCl and the elimination of tar by steam reforming. The elimination of HCl formed CaCl2 and MgCl2 With melting points below the high (above 800 degrees C) temperatures required for the simultaneous tar elimination reaction. So, the CaO-based particles progressively melted and the catalytic gas cleaning reactor became a compact, agglomerated or glued, cake. Therefore, the life and usefulness of the CaO-based solids used was very low. Nevertheless, and to further avoid these problems, some positive guidelines for future research are proposed here. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.