CO2 Capture from Biomass Gasification Producer Gas Using a Novel Calcium and Iron-Based Sorbent through Carbonation–Calcination Looping

In this study, a novel sorbent material based on CaO and Fe 2 O 3 was investigated for its performance in CO 2 capture from simulated biomass gasification producer gas. Experiments were conducted in a fixed bed reactor and each run of the experiments included three major stages of sorbent material reduction, CO 2 capture (carbonation), and CO 2 release (calcination). The operation temperature in the CO 2 capture stage was controlled at 590, 620, 650, and 680 °C, while the temperature for the CO 2 release was maintained at 850 °C. The duration of the CO 2 capture stage was 3 h and that of the CO 2 release stage was 2 h. The effect of cycles of carbonation–calcination looping of the sorbent material was also investigated at the carbonation temperature of 650 °C. The experimental results show that effective CO 2 capture by the sorbent material occurred in the initial 20 min during the carbonation. In the calcination stage, the rate of CO 2 release reached the peak in 30–40 min from the start of the calcination. The carbonation temperature has a significant effect on CO 2 capture and the optimum carbonation temperature was found to be 620 °C, at which CO 2 capture efficiency was 94% for the first cycle and 90.4% as average for the first three cycles. It was also found that the CO 2 capture efficiency was reduced with cycling. Mechanisms of the CO 2 capture and the effect of cycling were also examined.