Self-activation and effect of regeneration conditions in CO2–carbonate looping with CaO–Ca12Al14O33 sorbent

Abstract CO 2 capture by solid sorbents through uptake–regeneration cycling is a promising option for high temperature removal of CO 2 from combustion gases and synthesis/fuel gases. The present study investigates the influence of regeneration atmosphere and temperature on the CO 2 uptake capacity during repeated cycling of CaO-based solid sorbents. The sorbents were synthesised to contain 75 and 85% w/w of active phase (CaO) and binder (Ca 12 Al 14 O 33 ) and were then subjected to cycling tests with repeated CO 2 uptake and release in a thermogravimetric analyser TGA for up to 200 cycles. Test conditions were chosen to test high temperature CO 2 capture at 600 °C in an atmosphere containing 14 and 25% v/v CO 2 (N 2 balance). Three different regeneration conditions were tested: (a) mild condition: regeneration at 900 °C in 14% CO 2 or 100% N 2 ; (b) moderate condition: regeneration at 1000 °C in 14% CO 2 ; and (c) severe condition: regeneration at 1000 °C in 86% CO 2 . Hydration of the sorbent during synthesis and prolonged carbonation prior to the cycling tests significantly improved the stability of the uptake capacity. Interestingly, the pretreated 75% w/w CaO synthetic sorbent maintained a good uptake capacity up to the 150th cycle under severe regeneration conditions and even showed continuously increasing CO 2 uptake capacity throughout the 150 cycle test with 25% CO 2 . The 75% w/w CaO sorbent is thus an interesting candidate for future work on high temperature CO 2 capture.