Dynamic Modelling of CO2 Capture by Calcium-Looping Cycle

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are mitigation measures aimed to reduce CO2 emissions from energy and other energy-intensive sectors. Among various CCS technologies, chemical looping systems are considered as potential promising solutions to reduce CO2 capture energy penalty. The paper presents a dynamic mathematical model of carbonation and calcination reactors of calcium-looping process to be used for carbon capture in fossil fuel-based power plants. The model described the particle distribution in carbonator / calciner according a 1D model for fast fluidization presented by Kunii and Levenspiel. The CO2 adsorption efficiency in the carbonator is divided in two terms taking into account the dense and lean regions of the bed. The dynamic model evaluates the solid distribution gas velocity and particle diameter and predicts the overall CO2 capture efficiency, taking into account that in every carbonation-calcination cycle the sorbent capacity decreases with the number of cycles.