Analysis of Environmental Sustainability in the Application of the Calcium Looping Process in Energy Generation

• Grant number: 24/11098-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Technology
• Principal Investigator: Ivonete Ávila
• Grantee: Ivonete Ávila
• Host Investigator: Fabio Montagnaro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEG). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Guaratinguetá. Guaratinguetá , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Napoli Frederico II (UNINA), Italy

Abstract

The development of new technologies with application of materials that act as carbon dioxide (CO2) sorbents is extremely important. The application of calcium looping (CaL) technology is promising for carbon sequestration that will allow the continued use of fossil fuels to generate electricity, with the use of natural gas. In the CaL process, CO2 is captured through gas-solid reactions with a calcium-based sorbent (CaO) during carbonation. Subsequently, CO2 is released during the calcination process. This process allows the establishment of a high purity CO2 flow that can be readily sequestered. One of the limitations associated with the CaL process refers to the low number of calcination/carbonation cycles. The determination of sorbent deactivation isnormally studied in thermal analysis systems, however in industrial systems the use of a fluidized bed reactor is the most promising. The research will analyze environmental sustainability when applying the CaL process in energy generation. Life cycle assessment will be applied considering a conventional natural gas thermoelectric plant with a carbon capture system by CaL. CaL trials will be conducted to investigate the effects of the main parameters of the CaL process in an Dual Iterconnected Fluidized Bed (DIFB) system. DIFB laboratory-scale results will be used to evaluate CO2 mitigation, considering applications at more realistic scales. The results obtainedfrom this research will contribute to the mapping of the environmental impacts resulting from the implementation of CaL technology in the generation of natural gas thermoelectricity.