Carbon capture & storage

optimisation in solids:

understanding surface-fluid

interactions.

Greg A. Mutch, David Vega-Maza & James A. Anderson

www.abdn.ac.uk

Carbon Capture & Storage

Calcium Looping

Mineral Carbonation

Surface-fluid interactions between CO2 and capture & storage materials.

Capture – Calcium Looping

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Capture – Calcium Looping (CaL)

Carbonation Calcination

(CO2 + N2 / H2O etc.)

CaCO3

CaO

CO2 (N2 / H2O etc.)

CaCO3 (Fresh) CaO(Spent)

• Second generation alternative to amine scrubbing relying on reversible

carbonation/calcination cycle of limestone.

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Calcium Looping Opportunity

• Advantages

– High quality recoverable heat & no high pressure/low temperature.

– Low cost, widely available sorbent & synergy with cement industry.

– Mature (fluidised bed) & small (fast reaction rate) plant.

– High capacity sorbent on g CO2 / kg sorbent basis.

» MEA – 60 g/kg, SiO2 – 13.2 g/kg, AC – 88 g/kg & CaL 393 g/kg.

• Disadvantages

H. Gupta & L.S. Fan. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 41 (2002) 4035 - 4042

Loop Number

We

igh

t %

1

2

3

1 - Surface Carbonation 2 - Bulk Carbonation 3 - Calcination

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Aims, Materials & Methods

• Calcium Looping

• Surface-fluid interactions between CO2 and capture materials.

– Investigate loss in capacity attributed to changes in bulk and surface chemistry of sorbent.

• CaCO3, CaO, Ca(OH)2 and “novel sorbents”.

Volumetric Chemisorption

in-situ Infrared Spectroscopy

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Summary

• Calcium Looping

• Methodology to qualitatively and quantitatively monitor changes to

sorbent during calcium looping has been developed.

• Spectroscopic differentiation of surface and bulk carbonation.

• Can we use this to unlock potential of sorbent bulk?

• Potential to expand to “novel sorbents” and flue gas contaminants.

• One such novel sorbent under development at UoA.

Storage – Mineral Carbonation

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Storage – Mineral Carbonation (MC)

1) Stratigraphic trapping

2) Solubility trapping

3) Residual (capillary) trapping

4) Mineral trapping (carbonation)

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Aims, Materials & Methods

• Mineral Carbonation

• Surface-fluid interactions between CO2 and storage materials.

– Commision HP/HT in-situ FT-IR rig.

– Determine effect of local parameters (T / P / H2O sat.) on mineral carbonation.

• Ca/Mg/K/Na – doped SiO2 and e.g CaSiO3 (Wollastonite).

• HP/HT in-situ FT-IR (20 MPa/500°C)

4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3700

Ab

so

rba

nce

Wavenumber / cm-1

scCO2 at 34 C

20731386

1282

1606

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Conclusions & Future Work

• In-situ FT-IR valuable tool for understanding CCS.

• Providing valuable information beyond traditional mass/energy balance.

• Gained an understanding of detailed CaL changes.

• Could allow rapid identification of promising sorbents.

• Need to expand loop number, sorbents and flue gas impurities.

• Developed unique apparatus for sequestration.

• 20 MPa / 500 °C in-situ FT-IR.

• Will look at extremes in reservoir conditions and long term stability.

• In the pipeline…

• Novel sorbent preparation and reactivation strategies.