(184a) Syngas Chemical Looping Gasification Process and Its Novel Retrofit Applications

The Syngas Chemical Looping (SCL) gasification process co-produces hydrogen and electricity from gaseous fuels such as syngas and light hydrocarbons. In this process, a reactive oxygen carrying medium is first reduced with gaseous fuels and then regenerated with steam and air in a cyclic manner. Through the assistance of the reaction medium, the SCL process simplifies the overall fuel conversion scheme while reducing pollutants in an indirect but effective manner. Extensive demonstrations of the SCL process have been carried out in a bench scale (2.5 KWt) unit using coal derived syngas, natural gas, and other light hydrocarbons as feedstock. More than 99.5% fuel conversion was achieved. The average hydrogen product purity was higher than 99.95%. A sub-pilot scale demonstration unit has also been constructed and tested. In this paper, the status of the SCL process demonstrations is discussed. Novel retrofit applications of the SCL system for liquid fuel and electricity generations are also explored. Based on ASPEN Plus® analysis, the SCL process can improve the efficiency of existing energy conversion systems by 5 ? 10%.