Ca-based sorbent looping combustion for CO2 capture in pilot-scale dual fluidized beds

To demonstrate process feasibility of in situ CO2 capture from combustion of fossil fuels using Ca-based sorbent looping technology, a flexible atmospheric dual fluidized bed combustion system has been constructed. Both reactors have an ID of 100 mm and can be operated at up to 1000 °C at atmospheric pressure. This paper presents preliminary results for a variety of operating conditions, including sorbent looping rate, flue gas stream volume, CaO/CO2 ratio and combustion mode for supplying heat to the sorbent regenerator, including oxy-fuel combustion of biomass and coal with flue gas recirculation to achieve high-concentration CO2 in the off-gas. It is the authors' belief that this study is the first demonstration of this technology using a pilot-scale dual fluidized bed system, with continuous sorbent looping for in situ CO2 capture, albeit at atmospheric pressure. A multi-cycle test was conducted and a high CO2 capture efficiency (> 90%) was achieved for the first several cycles, which decreased to a still acceptable level (> 75%) even after more than 25 cycles. The cyclic sorbent was sampled on-line and showed general agreement with the features observed using a lab-scale thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) apparatus. CO2 capture efficiency decreased with increasing number of sorbent looping cycles as expected, and sorbent attrition was found to be another significant factor to be limiting sorbent performance.