Experimental assessment of reverse water gas shift integrated with chemical looping for low-carbon fuels

Abstract

Chemical looping integrated with reverse water gas (CL-RWGS) shift is presented in this study using Cu-based oxygen carrier (OC) supported on Al2O3 has been used to convert the CO2 and H2 mixture stream into a syngas stream with a tailored H2 to CO ratio and relevant conditions. The results demonstrated consistent breakthrough curves during redox cycles, confirming the chemical stability of the material. In 10 consecutive cycles at 600 °C and 1 bar, bed temperatures increased by 184 °C and 132 °C across the bed during oxidation and reduction stages respectively. The cooling effects during RWGS showed a decline in solid temperatures demonstrating the effectiveness of the heat removal strategy while attaining a CO2-to-CO conversion close >48%. The outlet gas maintains a H2/CO ratio above 2, confirming the material's dual role as OC and catalyst. During complete CL-RWGS cycles, varying temperature from 500 °C to 600 °C at a constant H2/CO2 molar ratio (1.3) and pressure (1 bar) reduces the H2/CO molar ratio from 3.14 to 2.35, respectively with a remarkable continuous CO2-to-CO conversion > 40%. The decrease in H2/CO molar ratio with the increase in temperature is consistent with the expected results of equilibrium limited conditions. Additionally, in CL-RWGS cycles, pressure insignificantly affects product molar composition. The study showed the capability of Cu material in converting CO2 into syngas through the CL-RWGS technique.