| University | Chalmers University of Technology |
| Department | Space, Earth and Environment |
| Division | |
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PhD student |
| Keywords | Chemical looping combustion, CO2 capture, Volatiles distributor, Gas-solids contact, Chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling, Manganese ores, Calcium manganite |
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| Website Chalmers University of Technology, in Swedish research.chalmers.se/person/?cid=lixiaoy |
| Website Chalmers University of Technology, in English research.chalmers.se/en/person/lixiaoy |
| Networks/thematic areas | Gothenburg Air and Climate Network (GAC) |
| SDG:s | 7. Affordable and clean energy, 13. Climate action |
| Regions | East Asia and Pacific , Europe and Central Asia |
| Country | China, Spain, Germany, Finland |
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| Reasearch / work |
| Climate change has intensified in recent years, with rising global carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and significant annual emissions. To achieve the climate targets for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, rapid and massive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are essential but not enough. Thus, carbon removal technologies, such as bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS), will be crucial for removing excessive CO2 accumulated in the atmosphere. Chemical-looping combustion of renewable biomass (bio-CLC) with carbon transportation and storage is a promising BECCS technology for atmospheric CO2 removal, since the CO2 from combustion can be obtained in pure form without the need of costly and energy-consuming gas separation.
While bio-CLC is a well-proven technology in small pilot-scale units, its widespread industrial application is closely related to the expectations of much lower cost of CO2 capture with CLC. The goal of my current work is to further improve the economic performance by addressing costs associated with incomplete fuel conversion and oxygen carriers. Two approaches to improve the fuel conversion in the CLC system were addressed: gas-solids contact, specifically focusing on combustibles from solid fuels like biomass, i.e. volatiles, and the reactivity of the solids, i.e. the oxygen carrier.
The current work provides the first detailed experimental and modelling proof-of-concept of a device, here named volatiles distributor, which is shown to give a more uniform cross-sectional distribution of volatiles and therefore enhance gas-solids contact. Together with detailed material characterizations, the operational performance of four natural manganese ores and one calcium manganite capable of releasing oxygen provide a comprehensive understanding of the main active phases and primary elements distributions in these materials and demonstrate their potential for improving fuel conversion. By improving fuel conversion with the volatiles distributor and manganese-based oxygen carriers, this research underscores the potential for large-scale CLC application at a lower cost. |