Performance of fuel reactor in chemical looping combustion system with mixed metal oxides

Abstract

The Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) technique shows great potential as an innovative technology to enhance thermal efficiency of system. It has a capability to achieve complete carbon capture (up to 100 %) and prevent the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx). The current study focuses on the computational analysis of bubble behavior within fuel reactor of CH4-fueled Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) setup. During numerical examination, a user-defined function (UDF) was utilized to integrate a reaction kinetics into active environment of fuel reactor. In the current research, CuO and NiO are employed as mixed oxygen carrier substances, while CH4 is utilized as fuel within the combustion procedures. The preparation, growing, rising, and bursting of bubbles' hydrodynamics has been observed; additionally, it has been evaluated in addition to examining the solidus-gaseous molar fraction within a fuel reactor. The current simulation opted for a gaseous fuel composed of natural gas (CH4), a hydrocarbon, alongside mixed metal oxides as CuO and NiO in varying ratios. A mixed metal oxide has been chosen in the proportion of CuO as 0.3 and NiO as 0.7, CuO as 0.5 and NiO as 0.5, and CuO as 0.7 and NiO as 0.3 by weightage. The fuel conversion rate has been observed 20 %, 25 %, and 30 % respectively for the different metal oxide mixture proportions. It has been clearly noticed that in the mixture of NiO and CuO; if the CuO amount is more, then the fuel conversion rate is high due to highly reactivity of CuO at high temperatures.