Modeling a counter-current moving bed for fuel and steam reactors in the TRCL process

A mathematical model for the moving bed is developed to simulate the fuel and steam reactor in the TRCL (Three-Reactor Chemical-Looping) process. An ideal plug flow of the solid and gas is assumed in modeling the fuel and steam reactor in the TRCL process. The model considered the mass, heat balances, equilibrium, physical properties, such as the heat capacity and viscosity, and kinetics. From this model, the temperature, gas conversion and solid conversion profiles can be predicted for fuel and steam reactors. The oxygen carrier inventory (the mass of the oxygen carrier) in the fuel and steam reactor was calculated with variation of the solid inlet temperature, solid conversion, Fe2O3 content and steam feed rate. The temperature of the oxygen carrier to the reactor was the most sensitive parameter for determining the required inventory of the oxygen carrier. An increase in the solid inlet temperature was predicted to decrease the required inventory of the oxygen carrier. In the steam reactor, a solid inlet temperature increase over 1150 K will cause an increase in the inventory of the oxygen carrier due to the equilibrium conversion. An excessively low or high active material content will require a larger inventory of the oxygen carrier in the fuel reactor. In this study, approximately 20 wt.% of the Fe2O3 content was suitable for reducing the inventory of the oxygen carrier while achieving a solid conversion of 0.9 in the fuel reactor.

► A moving bed model is developed to simulate the fuel and steam reactor in the three reactor chemical-looping process.► The temperature, gas conversion and solid conversion profile can be predicted. ► Oxygen carrier inventory was estimated with change in operation conditions. ► The temperature of the oxygen carrier (Fe2O3/ZrO2) to the reactors is the most sensitive parameter.