Hydrogen Production with In Situ CO2 Capture at High and Medium Temperatures Using Solid Sorbents

Hydrogen is a versatile vector for heat and power, mobility, and stationary applications. Steam methane reforming and coal gasification have been, until now, the main technologies for H2 production, and in the shorter term may remain due to the current costs of green H2. To minimize the carbon footprint of these technologies, the capture of CO2 emitted is a priority. The in situ capture of CO2 during the reforming and gasification processes, or even during the syngas upgrade by water–gas shift (WGS) reaction, is especially profitable since it contributes to an additional production of H2. This includes biomass gasification processes, where CO2 capture can also contribute to negative emissions. In the sorption-enhanced processes, the WGS reaction and the CO2 capture occur simultaneously, the selection of suitable CO2 sorbents, i.e., with high activity and stability, being a crucial aspect for their success. This review identifies and describes the solid sorbents with more potential for in situ CO2 capture at high and medium temperatures, i.e., Ca- or alkali-based sorbents, and Mg-based sorbents, respectively. The effects of temperature, steam and pressure on sorbents’ performance and H2 production during the sorption-enhanced processes are discussed, as well as the influence of catalyst–sorbent arrangement, i.e., hybrid/mixed or sequential configuration.

Effect of steam on heat storage and attrition performance of limestone under fluidization during CaO/CaCO3 heat storage cycles

A mixture of high-concentration steam and CO2 is proposed as a calcination medium for a CaO/CaCO3 heat storage system.

Development of Thermochemical Heat Storage Based on CaO/CaCO3 Cycles: A Review

Due to the inconsistency and intermittence of solar energy, concentrated solar power (CSP) cannot stably transmit energy to the grid. Heat storage can maximize the availability of CSP plants. Especially, thermochemical heat storage (TCHS) based on CaO/CaCO3 cycles has broad application prospects due to many advantages, such as high heat storage density, high exothermic temperature, low energy loss, low material price, and good coupling with CSP plants. This paper provided a comprehensive outlook on the integrated system of CaO/CaCO3 heat storage, advanced reactor design, heat storage conditions, as well as the performance of CaO-based materials. The challenges and opportunities faced by current research were discussed, and suggestions for future research and development directions of CaO/CaCO3 heat storage were briefly put forward.

Blending Wastes of Marble Powder and Dolomite Sorbents for Calcium-Looping CO2 Capture under Realistic Industrial Calcination Conditions

The use of wastes of marble powder (WMP) and dolomite as sorbents for CO₂ capture is extremely promising to make the Ca-looping (CaL) process a more sustainable and eco-friendly technology. For the downstream utilization of CO₂, it is more realistic to produce a concentrated CO₂ stream in the calcination step of the CaL process, so more severe conditions are required in the calciner, such as an atmosphere with high concentration of CO₂ (>70%), which implies higher calcination temperatures (>900 °C). In this work, experimental CaL tests were carried out in a fixed bed reactor using natural CaO-based sorbent precursors, such as WMP, dolomite and their blend, under mild (800 °C, N₂) and realistic (930 °C, 80% CO₂) calcination conditions, and the sorbents CO₂ carrying capacity along the cycles was compared. A blend of WMP with dolomite was tested as an approach to improve the CO₂ carrying capacity of WMP. As regards the realistic calcination under high CO₂ concentration at high temperature, there is a strong synergetic effect of inert MgO grains of calcined dolomite in the blended WMP + dolomite sorbent that leads to an improved stability along the cycles when compared with WMP used separately. Hence, it is a promising approach to tailor cheap waste-based blended sorbents with improved carrying capacity and stability along the cycles under realistic calcination conditions.

CO2 Capture at Medium to High Temperature Using Solid Oxide-Based Sorbents: Fundamental Aspects, Mechanistic Insights, and Recent Advances

Carbon dioxide capture and mitigation form a key part of the technological response to combat climate change and reduce CO₂ emissions. Solid materials capable of reversibly absorbing CO₂ have been the focus of intense research for the past two decades, with promising stability and low energy costs to implement and operate compared to the more widely used liquid amines. In this review, we explore the fundamental aspects underpinning solid CO₂ sorbents based on alkali and alkaline earth metal oxides operating at medium to high temperature: how their structure, chemical composition, and morphology impact their performance and long-term use. Various optimization strategies are outlined to improve upon the most promising materials, and we combine recent advances across disparate scientific disciplines, including materials discovery, synthesis, and in situ characterization, to present a coherent understanding of the mechanisms of CO₂ absorption both at surfaces and within solid materials.

Characterization of the CaCO3 calcination process by the Porod invariant behaviour

The concave behaviour of the Porod invariant observed during the calcination of CaCO3 powder samples suggests the following picture of the evolving internal structure of the samples. The outset sample is formed by a crystalline CaCO3 phase and a void phase. During the calcination, the first phase shrinks in volume at fixed density since the temperature increase breaks down the crystalline structure at the interface, leading to the formation of an amorphous phase comprising an equal number of CO2 and CaO atomic groups. The last groups gradually condense, forming a third phase of solid CaO of constant density and increasing volume fraction, while the companion CO2 groups flow out of the sample. The amorphous phase occupies, with a variable density, all the volume left free by the other two phases. At the end of the calcination, both the volume fraction of the first phase and the density of the amorphous phase vanish so that the sample will again be made up of two phases: the voids and the solid CaO. Best-fitting the resulting theoretical expressions of the Porod invariant and of the Porod law coefficient to the observed values, one can determine the matter densities, volume fractions and specific surface areas of the phases.

Development of Heterogeneous Alkali Methoxide Catalyst from Fly Ash and Limestone

This study is aimed to use fly ash and limestone as raw materials for preparing alkali methoxide heterogeneous catalysts for transesterification of palm oil into biodiesel. The heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized from fly ash and limestone through wet and dry methods and calcined within 1073–1273 K. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses indicated the well-dispersed presence of the Ca(OCH3)2 crystal over the fly ash and limestone framework, which was mixed using wet method and calcined at 1073 K (W-800). Results showed that W-800 exhibited larger surface area and more uniform active sites than the other catalysts. About 88.6 % of biodiesel was produced from commercial palm oil with W-800 as the catalyst. The product possesses physicochemical characteristics, such as density, kinematic viscosity and free fatty acid content, which satisfy the international biodiesel standard. The catalyst was used for biodiesel production for four cycles, and the biodiesel yield was maintained up to 91.87 % from the initial value.

Mechanistic Understanding of CaO-Based Sorbents for High-Temperature CO2 Capture: Advanced Characterization and Prospects

Carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies are short to mid-term solutions to reduce anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. CaO-based sorbents have emerged as a viable class of cost-efficient CO₂ sorbents for high temperature applications. Yet, CaO-based sorbents are prone to deactivation over repeated CO₂ capture and regeneration cycles. Various strategies have been proposed to improve their cyclic stability and rate of CO₂ uptake including the addition of promoters and stabilizers (e. g., alkali metal salts and metal oxides), as well as nano-structuring approaches. However, our fundamental understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which promoters or stabilizers affect the performance of the sorbents is limited. With the recent application of advanced characterization techniques, new insight into the structural and morphological changes that occur during CO₂ uptake and regeneration has been obtained. This review summarizes recent advances that have improved our mechanistic understanding of CaO-based CO₂ sorbents with and without the addition of stabilizers and/or promoters, with a specific emphasis on the application of advanced characterization techniques.

A Carbide Slag-Based, Ca12Al14O33-Stabilized Sorbent Prepared by the Hydrothermal Template Method Enabling Efficient CO2 Capture

Calcium looping is a promising technology to capture CO2 from the process of coal-fired power generation and gasification of coal/biomass for hydrogen production. The decay of CO2 capture activities of calcium-based sorbents is one of the main problems holding back the development of the technology. Taking carbide slag as a main raw material and Ca12Al14O33 as a support, highly active CO2 sorbents were prepared using the hydrothermal template method in this work. The effects of support ratio, cycle number, and reaction conditions were evaluated. The results show that Ca12Al14O33 generated effectively improves the cyclic stability of CO2 capture by synthetic sorbents. When the Al2O3 addition is 5%, or the Ca12Al14O33 content is 10%, the synthetic sorbent possesses the highest cyclic CO2 capture performance. Under harsh calcination conditions, the CO2 capture capacity of the synthetic sorbent after 30 cycles is 0.29 g/g, which is 80% higher than that of carbide slag. The superiority of the synthetic sorbent on the CO2 capture kinetics mainly reflects at the diffusion-controlled stage. The cumulative pore volume of the synthetic sorbent within the range of 10–100 nm is 2.4 times as high as that of calcined carbide slag. The structure of the synthetic sorbent reduces the CO2 diffusion resistance, and thus leads to better CO2 capture performance and reaction rate.

CO2 capture by a novel CaO/MgO sorbent fabricated from industrial waste and dolomite under calcium looping conditions

A synthetic sorbent prepared from carbide slag and dolomite by combustion exhibits high CO₂ capture capacity, good cyclic stability and a porous microstructure.

Tar yield and composition from poultry litter gasification in a fluidised bed reactor: effects of equivalence ratio, temperature and limestone addition

Qualitative and quantitative measurements of tar from poultry litter gasification in an air-blown fluidised bed.

Limestone calcination under calcium-looping conditions for CO2 capture and thermochemical energy storage in the presence of H2O: an in situ XRD analysis

The presence of H₂O at very low concentrations in the calciner significantly accelerates decomposition, while the resulting CaO crystal structure and reactivity are not modified.

Thermal decomposition of dolomite under CO2: insights from TGA and in situ XRD analysis

The crystallographic transformation during dolomite calcination is essentially determined by the presence of CO₂.