Object-oriented simulation of an Endex reactor for separation of carbon dioxide from flue emissions

Abstract

Endex calcium looping is a novel early-stage technology for separating CO2 from flue gases that shows great potential for reducing the high cost of the regeneration step because the calcination temperature is significantly lower. In this work an Endex calcium looping system is modelled as a train of continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) elements mass-coupled in series and thermally coupled in parallel. A novel simulator was developed that incorporates object-oriented design to describe the Endex reactor and its components, and used to study the effects of varying the most important design and operating parameters. From a reactor design point of view, varying the heat transfer coefficient and the sorbent flow rate amounts to testing the classic tradeoff between capital and running costs: we may choose between higher capital costs (larger heat transfer coefficient) and lower running costs (low sorbent flow rate) or vice versa, for similar scrubbing and regeneration efficiencies.