The thermodynamic method for selecting oxygen carriers used for chemical looping air separation

Chemical looping air separation (CLAS) has been suggested as a new and energy saving method for producing oxygen from air. The selection of suitable oxygen carriers is the key issue for CLAS system. This paper shows a comprehensive thermodynamic method for selecting oxygen carriers used for CLAS through studying the properties of 34 different oxygen releasing reactions referring to 18 elements at different temperatures. The research mainly includes analysis of oxygen releasing capacity by calculating the Gibbs free energy change (ΔG) and the equilibrium partial pressure of oxygen of the reduction or oxidation reaction at different temperatures. Oxygen content and transport capacity were calculated. The spontaneous reaction temperatures for oxygen releasing reactions were presented to determine the operating temperatures. Also, the minimum demand of the steam for the reduction reaction was discussed. On the basis of the comprehensive thermodynamic study, the oxide systems of CrO₂/Cr₂O₃, PbO₂/Pb₃O₄, PbO₂/PbO, Pb₃O₄/PbO, MnO₂/Mn₂O₃, and Ag₂O/Ag have been found suitable for the CLAS process in low temperatures (500–800 K). The systems of PdO₂/PdO, PdO₂/Pd, PdO/Pd, MnO₂/MnO, and MnO₂/Mn₃O₄ were suitable for medium temperatures (800–1100 K) CLAS process. And Co₃O₄/CoO, CuO/Cu₂O, Mn₂O₃/Mn₃O₄, and OsO₂/Os systems only worked successfully in high temperatures (1100–1400 K). In addition, the CaO₂/CaO system was not suitable for CLAS because of the reaction with steam. The various binders such as SiO₂, TiO₂, Al₂O₃, Y₂O₃, ZrO₂, and YSZ which have been used for CLC could also be the supports for CLAS oxygen carriers.     

Sewage sludge ash as an alternative low-cost oxygen carrier for chemical looping combustion

In this paper, novel low-cost oxygen carriers containing Fe₂O₃ are evaluated for use in chemical looping combustion. Sewage sludge ashes and reference samples were prepared and used in cyclic reduction and oxidation experiments in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TG). A gaseous (3 % H₂) fuel and a solid fuel (hard coal) were tested. Three-cycle CLC tests were carried out in the 600–800 °C temperature range and long-term testing was performed at 950 °C. A reactivity study showed that the natural sewage sludge ash sample was stable during the cycling TG tests when hydrogen was used as a fuel at all of the temperatures investigated. Strong temperature effects on the oxygen transport capacity were observed. An one-cycle test at 900 °C showed also that the sewage sludge ash successfully reacted with coal. The oxygen released was fully used for coal combustion, with appreciable reaction rate at temperature of ~750–800 °C, that is significantly lower than that obtained for pure Fe₂O₃-based oxygen carrier. The oxidation reaction was much faster than the reduction reaction. Moreover, the sewage sludge ash showed a low tendency toward agglomeration in the cyclic test, which was superior to the behavior of synthetic materials. The sewage sludge ash exhibited also high mechanical strength, an attrition index of 1 % and a high-temperature resistance of 1,170 °C in a reducing atmosphere. We conclude that sewage sludge ash can be effectively used as a low-cost, valuable oxygen carrier in practical application in chemical looping combustion technology for power generation.     

Study on modification of Cu-based oxygen carrier for chemical looping combustion

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is a promising technology for segregation of carbon dioxide. CLC uses a metal oxide as an oxygen carrier, which transfers oxygen from the air to the fuel avoiding direct contact between them, thus separating the carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Cu-based oxygen carriers are excellent mediums due to high reactivity, environmental friendliness, and favorable thermodynamics. However, there are agglomeration issues due to low melting point of Cu. To solve this issue, a new preparation method as well as a dispersion reagent and a thermal durability-enhanced reagent were applied simultaneously to the oxygen carrier. The carriers were synthesized using both wet and dry impregnation methods. Based on the initial oxygen loading capability tests, the dry impregnation method received additional investigation. The characterizations of the oxygen carriers were evaluated using thermogravimetric analyzer (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and surface area analyzer. TG results demonstrate that the enhanced dry impregnation was an effective preparation method, where the mass loss of the oxygen carrier was typically 3.4 %, correlating to almost 17 % loaded CuO. XRD results indicate a new phase, CuAl₂O₄ spinel, formed after the first few redox cycles, which is responsible for promoting the thermal stability of the oxygen carriers. SEM results show that the addition of the dispersants decreased the agglomeration and the enhanced reagent chemicals greatly improved the strength of the carriers. However, the surface area of the oxygen carriers decreased with the addition of the additives. In addition, with the increasing redox cycles, the surface area also decreased while the pore size increased, indicating that small pores were crushed, but the reactivity of the oxygen carriers did not decrease. In conclusion, the oxygen carriers produced in this manner are suitable for multi-cycle tests, and a major hurdle toward reducing greenhouse gases has been achieved.     

铜基载氧体与可燃固体废弃物化学链燃烧特性研究

采用机械混合法制备了铜基载氧体,利用两段式管式炉反应平台和磁悬浮热重分析仪分别研究了铜基载氧体与石墨、可燃固体废弃物典型组分及可燃固体废弃物热解气模型物CH₄的化学链燃烧特性。结果表明,机械混合法制备的Cu80Si950载氧体强度高,具有良好的转化率和循环稳定性,是实现可燃固体废弃物化学链燃烧的一种比较理想的载氧体。利用扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)和颗粒强度测定仪对各个反应阶段载氧体进行分析。结果表明,Cu80Si950载氧体参与反应后表面结构发生巨大改变,机械强度骤降。多次循环之后载氧体结构趋于规则均匀化,形成类似球棒形状的大孔隙率结构,强度保持不变,使得载氧体在长时间使用过程中反应性能得以维持。     

基于钾基修饰铁矿石载氧体的煤化学链燃烧循环实验

对天然的铁矿石加以钾基修饰,在流化床上进行了煤化学链燃烧循环实验。研究了改性后的铁矿石对气体产物浓度及含碳气体体积分数影响的持续力。钾基铁矿石缩短了反应时间并明显提高了CO₂浓度;在20次循环中,钾基铁矿石能明显提高CO₂体积分数并降低CO体积分数,11次循环后,CO₂体积分数稍有减少,CO体积分数略有增加。借助于扫描电镜与电子能谱(SEM-EDX)和X射线衍射(XRD),对不同循环后的载氧体进行表征。与纯铁矿石相比,前10次循环钾基铁矿石载氧体表面严重烧结,20次循环之后烧结减轻,恢复多孔结构。结果表明,钾基铁矿石载氧体中KFe₁₁O₁₇或其衍生物对煤气化有催化作用;在20次循环中存在钾流失现象;20次循环后钾基铁矿石载氧体能完全氧化为Fe₂O₃。     

Natural iron ore as an oxygen carrier for biomass chemical looping gasification in a fluidized bed reactor

Chemical looping gasification (CLG) of biomass was performed in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TG) reactor together with a fluidized reactor with natural iron ore oxygen carrier under inert atmosphere. TG experiments indicated that iron ore can provide oxygen source for biomass conversion in the form of lattice oxygen. In the fluidized bed experiments, the influences of reduction temperature on CLG of biomass were emphatically investigated in terms of gas distribution and solid characters. The gas yield and carbon conversion increased, but the tar content decreased in the temperature range of 1,013–1,213 K. In this temperature range, the conversion of oxygen carrier increased from 24.11 to 53.59 %. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that more FeO was generated with temperature increasing. Scanning electron microscope analysis indicates that sintering was observed at elevated temperature. An optimum mass ratio of biomass/oxygen carrier (B/O) of 0.67 was obtained with aim of achieving maximum gasification efficiency of 76.93 %.     

Different oxidation routes for lattice oxygen recovery of double-perovskite type oxides LaSrFeCoO_6 as oxygen carriers for chemical looping steam methane reforming

Double-perovskite type oxide LaSrFeCoO_6(LSFCO) was used as oxygen carrier for chemical looping steam methane reforming(CL-SMR) due to its unique structure and reactivity. Two different oxidation routes,steam-oxidation and steam-air-stepwise-oxidation, were applied to investigate the recovery behaviors of the lattice oxygen in the oxygen carrier. The characterizations of the oxide were determined by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction(H_2-TPR) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The fresh sample LSFCO exhibits a monocrystalline perovskite structure with cubic symmetry and high crystallinity, except for a little impurity phase due to the antisite defect of Fe/Co disorder. The deconvolution distribution of XPS patterns indicated that Co,and Fe are predominantly in an oxidized state(Fe~(3+) and Fe~(2+)) and(Co~(2+) and Co~(3+)), while O 1s exists at three species of lattice oxygen, chemisorbed oxygen and physical adsorbed oxygen. The double perovskite structure and chemical composition recover to the original state after the steam and air oxidation, while the Co ion cannot incorporate into the double perovskite structure and thus form the CoO just via individual steam oxidation. In comparison to the two different oxidation routes, the sample obtained by steam-oxidation exhibits even higher CH_4 conversion, CO and H_2 selectivity and stronger hydrogen generation capacity.     

基于镍基修饰的铁矿石载氧体煤化学链燃烧实验

使用1 kW_th串行流化床反应器,研究了以铁矿石为载氧体以及对铁矿石进行镍基修饰情况下煤化学链燃烧特性,对两种修饰方法(机械混合和浸渍)进行了对比评价。结果表明,铁矿石载氧体具有良好的反应性能和稳定性,是实现煤化学链燃烧的一种比较理想的载氧体。向矿石中机械添加少量NiO/Al₂O₃载氧体,能够有效改善其反应活性,提高系统CO₂捕集率;采用浸渍法修饰的铁矿石载氧体煅烧后,总体微观孔隙结构变差,导致煤气化产物与载氧体间的反应无法充分进行,系统CO₂捕集率显著下降。浸渍修饰的方法和过程需要进一步的研究和改善。     

CeO2/Co3O4氧载体的制备及其甲烷化学链燃烧性能研究

制备了系列甲烷化学链燃烧用CeO₂/Co₃O₄复合氧载体,采用XRD、H₂-TPR、甲烷程序升温和恒温反应对氧载体进行了表征与评价。研究了不同CeO₂的负载量对复合氧载体的结构、氧化还原性、产物选择性的影响。结果表明,氧化铈的添加不仅降低了氧载体的初始反应温度,还延长了有效反应时间,但铈添加量过高会降低产物CO₂选择性,使甲烷向部分氧化进行。CeO₂(30%)/Co₃O₄氧载体在650 ℃经20次循环后甲烷转化率和CO₂选择性均未明显降低,表现出较高的活性和化学链循环稳定性。     

CaSO4氧载体煤基合成气化学链燃烧模拟研究

相对于金属氧载体, CaSO₄作为氧载体用于化学链燃烧,具有成本低、来源广泛和氧传递容量大等诸多优点,但是气相SO₂以及各种固相硫沉积物对CaSO₄用于化学链燃烧过程造成很大的障碍。基于热力学模拟,对CaSO₄氧载体与以合成气为燃料的化学链燃烧进行了模拟研究,结果表明就CaSO₄与合成气的反应而言,在燃料反应器中, 100℃～400℃的低温反应条件下,主要发生的是合成气中CO和H₂的甲烷化反应以及硫酸盐热化学还原反应,反应产物主要是H₂S和CaCO₃;在400℃～915℃,主要发生的是CO和H₂与CaSO₄的还原反应,还原产物是CaS和CO₂;当反应温度高于915℃时,诸多副反应开始发生,反应物相除了CaS和CO₂外,CaO等副产物开始出现;而在空气反应器中,在CaS的整个氧化过程中,CaS再生形成CaSO₄的反应都是主要的,但是当空气过量系数Ф_AR<0.8时,CaSO₄与CaS的固相反应以及CaS氧化形成CaO的两个副反应也同时起作用。在燃料反应器中,最优的反应条件是反应温度915℃、常压并严格控制CaSO₄ 的加入量并确保CaSO₄氧载体过量系数Ф_FR~1;而在空气反应器中,提供充足的空气量对于CaS的氧化非常重要,空气过量系数Ф_AR ≥1不仅能确保CaS的充分氧化,而且还能避免CaS氧化过程中SO₂的排放和CaO的产生。     

惰性载体对CaSO4载氧体化学链燃烧性能的影响

为提高化学链燃烧中CaSO₄载氧体的机械强度和反应活性,采用机械混合法制备了负载甘油、硅溶胶以及拟薄水铝石惰性载体的CaSO₄载氧体,并对其机械强度、反应特性等进行了实验研究。结果表明,甘油和硅溶胶的加入可显著提高CaSO₄载氧体的机械强度,而拟薄水铝石作用较小。热重还原实验表明,甘油和硅溶胶的加入可加快载氧体与甲烷的反应速率,缩短反应时间。XRD分析表明,惰性载体的加入不会影响CaSO₄向CaS转化,CaSO₄接近完全转化。     

基于CoFe2O4载氧体的生物质化学链气化热力学分析及实验研究

对基于CoFe₂O₄载氧体的生物质化学链气化反应进行了热力学分析,研究了载氧体添加量、温度及水蒸气含量对气化反应特性的影响。同时应用热重分析仪对CoFe₂O₄和生物质的气化反应特性进行了实验研究,并利用XRD对反应前后载氧体的物相组成进行分析。热力学研究表明,CoFe₂O₄在气化反应中能够提供晶格氧,有效促进生物质气化,提高碳转化率。随着反应温度升高,合成气中H₂和CO的含量增加,CO₂的含量减少。随着水蒸气含量增加,H₂和CO₂含量会增加,CO含量减少。添加水蒸气能够提高合成气中H₂和CO的比值,改善合成气的品质。热重实验及XRD结果表明,钴优先于铁被还原,钴与铁存在协同作用,钴能够促进铁的进一步还原。随着载氧体添加量的增加,载氧体被还原的程度会降低,载氧体与生物质的最佳质量比为0.8。     

碳酸钾催化的铁基氧载体煤催化化学链燃烧

研究了K₂CO₃催化剂及惰性担体对铁基氧载体煤化学链燃烧的影响.实验结果表明,K₂CO₃的添加可明显促进铁基氧载体与煤之间的反应速率,其原因可归结为从氧载体上迁移到煤颗粒上的K₂CO₃对煤-CO₂气化步骤的催化作用(该步骤为整个还原过程的速率控制步骤);由于K₂CO₃本身的促熔效果及加入K₂CO₃后导致的剧烈氧化还原反应,可以发现,K₂CO₃会增大铁基氧载体的烧结;不同惰性担体对铁基氧载体与煤的反应性影响不大,这是由于惰性担体对还原速控步没有影响;K₂CO₃在多循环化学链燃烧过程中依然可以保持一定的催化活性,另外由于催化剂的流失与失活,使得氧载体的反应活性有所下降.     

Mn-Fe_2O_3载氧体作用下CO化学链燃烧特性及动力学研究

采用共沉淀法制备不同物质的量比Mn掺杂的铁基载氧体(Mn-Fe2O3),并进行XRD、BET和TEM表征。开展不同温度下Mn-Fe2O3与CO的化学链燃烧实验,研究载氧体的反应特性,确定较优的掺杂量和反应温度。结果表明,适量的Mn掺杂有助于改善铁基载氧体的反应活性,Fe∶Mn物质的量为50∶1时燃烧反应转化率最高。多循环化学链燃烧实验证实了载氧体稳定性较好。不同升温速率(30、40、50℃/min)下反应动力学分析表明,Mn-Fe2O3与CO的化学链燃烧还原反应均属于随机成核和随后生长的Avrami-Erofeev方程模型,并依据模型分别计算出了该模型的活化能和频率因子。     

Solar chemical looping reforming of methane combined with isothermal H_2O/CO_2 splitting using ceria oxygen carrier for syngas production

The chemical looping reforming of methane through the nonstoichiometric ceria redox cycle(CeO_2/CeO_(2-δ)) has been experimentally investigated in a directly irradiated solar reactor to convert both solar energy and methane to syngas in the temperature range 900–1050 °C. Experiments were carried out with different ceria shapes via two-step redox cycling composed of endothermic partial reduction of ceria with methane and complete exothermic re-oxidation of reduced ceria with H_2 O/CO_2 at the same operating temperature, thereby demonstrating the capability to operate the cycle isothermally. A parametric study considering different ceria macrostructure variants(ceria packed powder, ceria packed powder mixed with inert Al_2 O_3 particles, and ceria reticulated porous foam) and operating parameters(methane flow-rate, reduction temperature, or sintering temperature) was conducted in order to unravel their impact on the bed-averaged oxygen non-stoichiometry(δ), syngas yield, methane conversion, and solar reactor performance. The ceria cycling stability was also experimentally investigated to demonstrate repeatable syngas production by alternating the flow between CH_4 and H_2 O(or CO_2). A decrease in sintering temperature of the ceria foam was beneficial for increasing syngas selectivity, methane conversion,and reactor performance. Increasing both CH_4 concentration and reduction temperature enhanced δ with the maximum value up to 0.41 but concomitantly favored CH_4 cracking reaction. The ceria reticulated porous foam showed better performance in terms of effective heat transfer, due to volumetric absorption of concentrated solar radiation and uniform heating with lower solar power consumption, thereby promoting the solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency that reached up to 5.60%. The energy upgrade factor achieved during cycle was up to 1.19. Stable patterns in the δ and syngas yield for consecutive cycles with the ceria foam validated material performance stability.     

Catalytic properties of Cu/Co/Zn/Zr oxides prepared by various methods

The new Cu-Co based （Cu/Co/Zn/Zr） catalysts for higher-alcohol synthesis were prepared using coprecipitation method, plasma enhanced method and reverse coprecipitation method under ultrasound irradiation. The catalysts were investigated by the means of BET, SEM, XRD, H2-TPR and XPS. Catalytic properties of the catalysts prepared by various methods were examined using CO hydrogenation reaction. It was found that plasma enhanced method and reverse coprecipitation method under ultrasound irradiation were both effective in enhancing the catalytic properties of Cu/Co/Zn/Zr mixed oxides. The small particle size, high dispersion of active components, the improvement of specific surface area and surface contents of active phases could account for the excellent performance of the experimental Cu/Co/Zn/Zr catalysts.