Design and Erection of a 300 kWth Indirectly Heated Carbonate Looping Test Facility

Standard carbonate looping promises low energy penalties for post-combustion CO2-capture and is particularly suited for retrofitting existing power plants. The heat for calcination can be provided by supplementary coal firing with oxygen leading to energy penalties and additional investment costs for air separation. To further increase the process efficiency, a new concept is considered where the heat for calcination is transferred from an external combustor to the calciner by means of heat pipes. This process modification offers even higher plant efficiencies and lower CO2 avoidance costs than the oxy-fired standard carbonate looping process. The concept of the indirectly heated carbonate looping process is tested at sufficient scale in a 300 kWth test facility at Technische Universitat Darmstadt. The main focus of this paper is on the design and erection of the very innovative pilot plant that is currently being commissioned.