Performance of a Novel Synthetic Ca-Based Solid Sorbent Suitable for Desulfurizing Flue Gases in a Fluidized Bed

Abstract

The extent and mechanism of sulfation and carbonation of limestone, dolomite, and chalk, were compared with a novel, synthetic sorbent (85 wt % CaO and 15 wt % Ca12Al14O33), by means of experiments undertaken in a small, electrically heated fluidized bed. The sorbent particles were used either (i) untreated, sieved to two particle sizes and reacted with two different concentrations of SO2, or (ii) after being cycled 20 times between carbonation, in 15 vol % CO2 in N2, and calcination, in pure N2, at 750 °C. The uptake of untreated limestone and dolomite was generally low ( 0.5 gSO2/gsorbent) and essentially independent of the particle size. Here, comparisons are made on the basis of the sorbents in the calcined state. Hg-intrusion porosimetry, performed on calcined sorbents, revealed that the pore vo...