GTCLC-NEG · Development of an innovative Gas Turbine Chemical Looping Combustor for Carbon Negative Power Generation

Development of an innovative Gas Turbine Chemical Looping Combustor for Carbon Negative Power Generation

Climate Change is the major global challenge of this century, with significant ramifications on human life. Unfortunately it is unlikely that agreed climate targets can be met without removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Negative Emissions Technologies are needed. The specific objective of the current project is thus to develop a carbon negative technology which can produce power and heat at low cost. Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) of biofuels can be such a process and is the basis of the project. Biomass absorbs CO2 during growth and releases it when burnt; but if CO2 is captured after combustion this will result in a net flow of carbon out of the atmosphere, i.e. Carbon Negative Technology, or Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). CLC is a form of unmixed combustion which uses an oxygen carrier to transfer oxygen from air to fuel and permits to have a pure flow of CO2, which can be easily captured at a low cost. The aim of the project is to develop a multifuel CLC combustor which can be coupled with a Gas Turbine (GT). Specific description of the importance of the project for the society Carbon Capture and Storage is of paramount importance for SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG5 (Climate Action). It is believed that one of the most effective ways to couple biomass energy and CCUS is to burn biomass or biofuels in a Chemical Looping Combustor, where CO2 can be easily captured after exiting the fuel reactor. CLC uses an oxygen carrier to transfer oxygen to the fuel and obtains CO2 in pure form inherently in the process. As CLC is not burdened with any separation work, it is uniquely applicable for carbon capture and can achieve negative emissions, when used with biomass. The social and economic impact of substituting the current Natural Gas Combined Cycle powerplants with GT-CLC cycles is huge. It can generate at least 100,000 of new jobs positions at European level, solving a key problem for the gas turbine and the bioenergy sector. The following objective have been investigated during the GTCLC-NEG project: 1) high efficiency bimetallic oxygen carriers are needed 2) low attrition rate oxygen carriers are needed which can work in extreme conditions; 3) kinetics aspects under high pressure and temperature conditions are not known; 4) reactor injection system has to be adapted to biofuels; the use of the hot air produced from the air reactor in a gas turbine has to be optimized; exhausts should be filtered to retain the dust released by oxygen carrier attrition; 5) high electrical efficiency of the power system has to be granted together with high fuel conversion in the combustor The objectives of this project fit the Horizon 2020 Framework Program, regarding the "transition to a reliable energetic sustainable and competitive system" and “supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies”, as well as with the Societal Challenge Horizon 2020 Framework Program 'Climate action, environment,resource efficiency and raw materials' where, among others, the objective is “to achieve a... climate change resilient economy and society”. Note that R&D activities on chemical looping have been founded by EU (RFCS, FP5, FP6, FP7 and H2020 programs) and the topic included in this proposal is susceptible to be financed by future EU programs.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union