Characterization and Evaluation of Prepared Fe2O3/Al2O3 Oxygen Carriers for Chemical Looping Process

Received: April 24, 2013
Revised: August 27, 2013
Accepted: August 27, 2013
Download Citation: RIS|BibTeX|https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2013.04.0135 

Cite this article:
Chiu, P.C., Ku, Y., Wu, Y.L., Wu, H.C., Kuo, Y.L. and Tseng, Y.H. (2014). Characterization and Evaluation of Prepared Fe2O3/Al2O3 Oxygen Carriers for Chemical Looping Process. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 14: 981-990. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2013.04.0135

ABSTRACT

Alumina supported Fe₂O₃ was prepared to evaluate its feasibility as an oxygen carrier for chemical looping using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and fixed bed reactor. Fe₂O₃/Al₂O₃ particles containing 60 wt% Fe₂O₃ and sintered at 1300°C demonstrated reasonable oxygen conversion. The reduction mechanism of Fe₂O₃/Al₂O₃ oxygen carriers was proposed based on the thermogravimetric analysis and XRD characterization. FeAl₂O₄ is formed and can serve as a supporting material as well as oxygen carrier in practical operations by using a moving bed reactor. The prepared Fe₂O₃/Al₂O₃ oxygen carriers demonstrated high CO₂ yields in relation to syngas and methane combustion in the fixed bed reactor operated at temperatures higher than 500 and 850°C, respectively. Moreover, hydrogen generation was demonstrated to be feasible by steam oxidation with reduced Fe₂O₃/Al₂O₃ oxygen carriers for experiments conducted at temperatures above 800°C. The crush strength and TGA of Fe₂O₃/Al₂O₃ were examined, and the results showed that they had an appropriate crush strength and reasonable reactivity as oxygen carriers for use in a chemical looping process.

Keywords: Chemical looping process; Fe2O3/Al2O3 Oxygen carrier; TGA; Fixed bed reactor