Interaction of oxygen carriers with common biomass ash components

Abstract Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been proposed as a bridging technology between the current energy production and a future renewable energy system. One promising carbon capture technology is chemical-looping combustion (CLC). In CLC the reactors are filled with metal oxide bed material called oxygen carriers. The interaction between oxygen carriers and biomass ashes is a poorly explored field. To make CLC a viable process, and thereby creating carbon emission reductions, more knowledge about the interactions between biomass ashes and oxygen carriers is needed. This study investigated solid-state reactions of three promising oxygen carriers, hematite, hausmannite and synthesised ilmenite with different biomass ash components. Oxygen carriers were exposed with the ash components: calcium carbonate, silica and potassium carbonate at 900 °C and at different reducing potentials. Crystalline phases of the exposed samples were determined using powder x-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that the oxygen carriers hausmannite and hematite interact to a higher extent compared to synthesised ilmenite regarding both physical characteristics and detectable phases. Synthesised ilmenite formed new phases only in systems including potassium. Thermodynamic calculations were performed on the multicomponent system and compared with experimental results. The results suggest that optimisation of systems involving manganese and potassium should be performed.