Investigation of Chemical-looping Combustion of Solid Fuels

The chemical-looping combustion process of solid fuels has been investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Experimental results showed that CuO showed high reactivity during reduction process with coal. The coal conversion rate increased with the increase of reaction temperature, and the optimum reaction temperature was about 800 degrees C. When CuO was supported on TiO2, the temperature to initiate the reaction decreased and the coal conversion rate also increased. Candlenut wood ash, which contained high amount of alkali metal, displayed catalytic activity in mixtures with coal during the CLC process. A key issue is to find the ways for increasing the gasification rates during the CLC process in an industrial process.