Insight into the mechanism of H2O promoted CaCO3 decomposition in CO2 atmosphere

Calcium looping is one of the most promising CO2 capture technology. The flus gas during the calcination stage of the calcium looping contains both CO2 and H2O. However, the effect of H2O on the decomposition of carbonation in the CO2 atmosphere remains inconclusive. This study employed the Reactive Force Field molecular dynamics (ReaxFF-MD) simulations to investigate the influence of H2O on the decomposition of calcium carbonate in a CO2 atmosphere. The TGA experiments demonstrated that H2O increases the decomposition rate of calcium carbonate and also reduces the reaction temperature. Subsequently, the effects of varying CO2 and H2O concentrations on the decomposition of calcium carbonate were examined using ReaxFF-MD simulations. The simulation results for calcium carbonate decomposition, with the addition of CO2 and H2O, aligned with the experimental trends, verifying the reliability of the models. By tracking and labeling carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atom sources in the simulation, the decomposition, carbonation and hydrolysis reaction network for the CaCO3 decomposition in CO2 atmosphere was systematically constructed. Analysis of the chemical reactions and atomic distribution indicated that H2O primarily facilitates calcium carbonate decomposition by generating HCO3- through surface hydrolysis, which reduces the activation energy of the reaction. Moreover, the hydroxyl groups formed by hydrolysis compete with atmospheric CO2 for active sites on CaO, further inhibiting the carbonation reaction and increasing the calcination rate.