Abstract
Methane is a reliable and an abundantly available energy source occurring in nature as natural gas, biogas, landfill gas, and so forth. Clean energy generation using methane can be accomplished by using chemical looping combustion. This theoretical study for chemical looping combustion of methane was done to consider some key technology development points to help the process engineer choose the right oxygen carrier and process conditions. Combined maximum product (H2O + CO2) generation, weight of the oxygen carrier, net enthalpy of CLC process, byproduct formation, CO2emission from the air reactor, and net energy obtainable per unit weight (gram) of oxygen carrier in chemical looping combustion can be important parameters for CLC operation. Carbon formed in the fuel reactor was oxidised in the air reactor and that increased the net energy obtainable from the CLC process but resulted in CO2emission from the air reactor. Use of CaSO4as oxygen carrier generated maximum energy (−5.3657 kJ, 800°C) per gram of oxygen carrier used in the CLC process and was found to be the best oxygen carrier for methane CLC. Such a model study can be useful to identify the potential oxygen carriers for different fuel CLC systems.
Highlights
Energy demand and energy generation are ever increasing in many parts of the world
This study considers the key technology development issues in Chemical looping combustion (CLC) of methane to evaluate suitability of the oxygen carriers based on other important process parameters such as net desired product generation, net energy obtainable from the system, byproduct generation, fuel conversion, relative weight of the oxygen carriers, effect of pressure and amount of oxygen carrier, and air requirement in oxidation reactor, which are vital parameters to be considered for CLC process design and its practical exploitation
CLC process conditions to maximise their formation in the CLC fuel reactor are of vital interest for successful technology development
Summary
Energy demand and energy generation are ever increasing in many parts of the world. Carbon-based fossil fuels are the main source of energy for combustion reactions. CO2 capture and sequestration is being projected as a potential option to control GHG emissions, CO2 capture technologies in-vogue are beset with several limitations including cost and energy penalty [1, 2]. These flue gases are directly vented to the atmosphere without CO2 separation and became responsible for environmental impacts of energy generation from fossil fuels, for example, global warming and climate change phenomena [3,4,5]. In 2010, CO2 emissions have already increased to 389.0 ppm and the burning of fossil fuels is one of the main causes for the same as reported by World
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