Transient Cold Flow Simulation of Fast-Fluidized Bed Air Reactor with Hematite as an Oxygen Carrier for Chemical Looping Combustion

Abstract

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is the most reliable carbon capture technology for curtailing CO2 insertion into the atmosphere. This paper presents the cold flow simulation results necessary to understand the hydrodynamic viability of the fast-fluidized bed air reactor. Hematite is selected as an oxygen carrier due to its easy availability and active nature during the reactions. The dense discrete phase model (DDPM) approach using the commercial software Ansys Fluent is applied in the simulation. An accurate and stable solution is achieved using the second-order upwind numerical scheme. A pressure difference of 150 kPa is obtained between the outlet and inlet of the selected air reactor, which is necessary for the movement of the particle. The stable circulating rate of hematite is achieved after 28 s of particle injection inside the air reactor. The results have been validated from the experimental results taken from the literature.

Keywords

• chemical looping combustion
• cold flow simulation
• hydrodynamic study
• hematite
• oxygen carriers
• DDPM