Principal Investigator Ahmed Ghoniem
Project Website http://web.mit.edu/rgd/www/oxyFuelCombustion/oxyFuelCombustion.html
Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) is interesting and promising option of oxy-fuel combustion with complete CO2 capture. Its merits in the little efficiency penalty for CO2 separation attracts a lot of researchers.
In CLC, two reactors are involved. Fuel is introduced in the fuel reactor, in which it is oxidized by metal oxide. The reduced metal oxide is then transferred into the air reactor where it is oxidized. The flue gas from fuel reactor only contains CO2 and H2O and consequently carbon dioxide can be readily captured after steam condensation.
The focus of the current work is to develop a novel combustor based on the concept of chemical-looping. Experimental research focusing on the reactivity of oxygen carrier materials will also be carried out in the future.