(384f) Hydrodynamic Computation Using Multiphase Flow Dynamics in Chemical Looping Combustion

The world consumption of energy continues to increase at a rate of about 2% per year. This trend is expected to increase apace with the economic growth through the 21st century even if the efficiency of energy conversation is increased. Hence, it is important to develop new carbon capture technologies coupled with energy intensive processes that will reduce the impact of the global climate change on the continued fossil energy use. Chemical looping combustion (CLC), having potential for realizing very efficient and low cost CO2 capture, is a good candidate. This basic concept for CO2 capture can be applied to power plants, iron-steel making works, cement plants, refinery plants, etc. Chemical looping process produces a relatively pure stream of CO2 ready for compression and storage in geological settings.

With the development of stable oxygen carriers, reactor design, modeling, and hydrodynamics for chemical looping process are critical issues that must be solved before a reliable scale-up is possible. Hydrodynamic computation using multiphase flow dynamics can be a useful tool for the systematic analysis of the reactor in CLC. This research will be focused on process variables such as the size of oxygen carriers, a mixing between oxygen carriers and reducing gas, concentration of reducing gas with a reaction mechanism of solid flow. Unburned reducing gas can be re-circulated to the fuel reactor. Such a tool with a model validation will provide the needed base for scale-up of CLC.