Design of the air reactor for a Chemical Looping Combustion plant coupled with a turbo expander

Abstract

Carbon Capture and Storage is a technology of paramount importance for Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action). The European Union is moving rapidly towards low carbon technologies, see the Energy Union Strategy. Coupling biofuels and carbon capture and storage to decarbonize the power and the industrial sector can be done through the development of BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage). However there are some technical barriers to the development of this technology. If a Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) plant has to be coupled with a gas turbine, it has to work in pressurized conditions. The effect of pressure on chemical reactions and fluidized bed hydrodynamics, at the moment, is not clear. The aim of this paper is to present a model for the dimensioning of an air reactor to be coupled to a gas turbine of the power of about 14 MW. Based on the air mass flow requirements to produce such a power. The fluidized bed is designed choosing geometry parameters and making a sensitivity analysis of the influence of the turbine inlet temperature on final plant efficiency. It can be seen from the analysis presented in this paper that the diameter of the fluidized bed is mainly influenced by the mass flow of the air in the reactor, while the height of the reactor is mainly influenced by elutriation and transport disengaging height calculations.