Effect of compression molding of CaCO3 powder on the kinetics of CO2 capture towards sustainable CO2 capture and sequestration cycle

Reducing CO2 emissions from industrial sectors and motor vehicles is currently receiving much attention. There are different strategies for CO2 capture, one of which is using calcium oxide (CaO). In our proposed carbon dioxide cycle, limestone is first calcined to get CaO, which is then used to capture CO2 by converting it to CaCO3. Next, the released CO2 could be converted to different organic matter by different sequestration techniques. For this purpose, CaCO3 discs have been prepared by compression molding to investigate the effect of sintering temperature on the mechanical and chemical properties of CaO carbonation reaction. The aim of this work is to fill the knowledge gap for the effect of the contact profile between CO2 gas and CaO disc, particularly the effect of reducing the void fraction of CaO on the rate of carbonation reaction. It was found that the flexural strength of the CaO discs was influenced by several factors, such as the calcination temperature, duration of calcination, and pressing pressure. The carbonation step indicated that both CO2 and H2O are reacting with CaO simultaneously and progressively, with the progressive reaction of H2O and CO2 being a favorable route. The carbonation process happens as a surface reaction-controlled process followed by a slower internal diffusion-controlled process. Additionally, a kinetic study of the competing reactions indicated that two factors are controlling the process: diffusion of gases through the pores and then the reaction rate. Furthermore, our data showed that the CO2 uptake rate was 1352.34 mg/g CaO, indicating that 566.34 mg of CO2 was adsorbed inside the pores of the CaO disc. Based on these results, we propose a new mechanism of the sequence of the competing reactions. In summary, the CaO discs revealed a significant removal of CO2 from stack gases, which will be suitable for removing CO2 from exhaust gases generated by industrial processes and other sources of emissions such as vehicles and ships.