Biomass combustion in a CLC system using an iron ore as an oxygen carrier

Abstract

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is a promising CO2 capture technology with a very low energy penalty and cost. Several previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of this technology using both gaseous and solid fuels. The combustion of biomass using CLC would make the concept of negative-CO2 emission possible. This paper presents a study of biomass combustion in a continuous CLC unit using pine wood as fuel and iron ore as an oxygen carrier and analyses several parameters influencing the CLC process. High carbon captures (>95%) were achieved in the interval 880–915 °C using both steam and CO2 as gasifying agents. Tar compounds were detected at the fuel reactor outlet. After 78 h of continuous operation, no changes were detected in the physical and chemical properties of the oxygen carrier particles.