(622g) Carbonaceous Fuel Conversions Through Redox Reactions of Oxygen Carrying Materials - Effect of Support

The chemical looping strategy offers a potentially viable option for efficient carbonaceous fuel conversion with a reduced carbon footprint. In the chemical looping process, an oxygen carrying material is reduced and oxidized in a cyclic manner to convert a carbonaceous fuel into separate streams of concentrated carbon dioxide and carbon-free products such as electricity and/or hydrogen. The reactivity as well as chemical and physical stability of the oxygen carrying material are of pivotal importance to chemical looping processes.

A typical oxygen carrying material is composed of one or more multi-valence transition metal oxides supported on an “inert” supporting material. Although the supporting material does not directly contribute to the overall redox reaction to any significant extent, numerous studies have indicated that support can significantly improve the reactivity and robustness of the oxygen carrying material. In this study, the effect of support properties including surface area, melting point, and ionic and mixed-conductivity on the intrinsic redox properties of the oxygen carrying materials is investigated. An effective approach for enhancing the performance of the oxygen carrying material is offered. The tailored oxygen carrying material is shown to be active in performing redox reactions for a number of energy and environmental related applications.