Derivation of Kinetics and Design Parameters for a Carbonator Reactor in a Greenhouse Calcium Looping Process

Abstract

AbstractThe carbonation/calcination reaction cycle of a limestone sorbent was studied experimentally by using a thermogravimetric analyzer for unique conditions, such as low temperature (400 to 500 °C) and low CO2 partial pressure (0.05 to 0.1 %), pertinent to a novel greenhouse calcium looping process. The kinetic parameters were obtained and compared with those reported in the literature. Various gas–solid reaction mechanisms were considered to determine the best reaction mechanism for the carbonation reaction. The diffusion function, or G(x)=x2, had the best least‐squares linear fit, which resulted in a first‐order reaction for the carbonation reaction in the greenhouse calcium looping process. Moreover, the activation energy and pre‐exponential factor of the carbonation reaction were established to be 19.7 kJ mol−1 and 295.8 min−1 kPa−1, respectively. The derived kinetic parameters were used in Aspen Plus to optimize the carbonator reactor size. The required size of the reactor decreased with increasing operating temperature of the reactor. Exergy analysis revealed that the overall exergetic efficiency of greenhouse calcium looping could be more than 80 %.