Hydrodynamic study of AR coupling effects on solid circulation and gas leakages in a high-flux in situ gasification chemical looping combustion system

Abstract

In situ gasification chemical looping combustion (iG-CLC) is a novel and promising coal combustion technology with inherent separation of CO2. Our previous studies demonstrated the feasibility of performing iG-CLC with a high-flux circulating fluidized bed (HFCFB) riser as the fuel reactor (FR) and a counter-flow moving bed (CFMB) as the air reactor (AR). As an extension of that work, this study aims to further investigate the fundamental effects of the AR coupling on the oxygen carrier (OC) circulation and gas leakages with a cold-state experimental device of the proposed iG-CLC system. The system exhibited favorable pressure distribution characteristics and good adaptability of solid circulation flux, demonstrating the positive role of the direct coupling method of the AR in the stabilization and controllability of the whole system. The OC circulation and the gas leakages were mainly determined by the upper and lower pressure gradients of the AR. With the increase in the upper pressure gradient, the OC circulation flux increased initially and later decreased until the circulation collapsed. Besides, the upper pressure gradient exhibited a positive effect on the restraint of gas leakage from the FR to the AR, but a negative effect on the suppression of gas leakage from the AR to the FR. Moreover, the gas leakage of the J-valve to the AR, which is directly related to the solid circulation stability, was exacerbated with the increase of the lower pressure gradient of the AR. In real iG-CLC applications, the pressure gradients should be adjusted flexibly and optimally to guarantee a balanced OC circulation together with an ideal balance of all the gas leakages.