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Investigation of sintered iron ore fines as an oxygen carrier in chemical looping combustion

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Abstract

Sintered iron ore fines were selected as oxygen carriers in chemical looping combustion. The reactivity of the sintered iron ore was investigated in redox cycles using thermogravimetric methods under isothermal or non-isothermal conditions. The used sintered iron ore samples from the redox cycles in isothermal tests, which were chosen to evaluate their structural changes, were characterized using the N2 adsorption–desorption, SEM–EDS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Results revealed that multiple redox cycle was an activation process of the selected sintered iron ore to promote its redox kinetics, as well as formations of the new crystalline phase. This was attributed to variations of the sintered iron ore in both their physical and chemical structural changes during redox cycles. The N2 adsorption–desorption analysis indicated an increase of its surface areas of sintered iron ore during redox cycles. The SEM–EDS results revealed the appearance of tiny cracks on the tested ore sample surfaces. Both XRD and Raman results presented appearance of a new crystalline phase, such as the lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH), which was apparently generated in the reduction reaction of chemical looping cycles. The formation of the new lepidocrocite phase seemed correlated with the decrease of the oxygen transport capacity of the sintered iron ore. The sintered iron ore performed properly in the carbon-laden atmospheres, and there was no carbon deposition on its surface.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by Overseas Academic Leader Fund of Anhui University (J10117700073), NSF-CHE-MRI under the Award ID of 1338072, NSF-MRI under the Award ID of 1429563 and the National Natural Science Funds of China (51204220). The authors also thank China Scholarship Council for the financial support. The material is based upon the work supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement No. 1355438.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Shapingba, Chongqing, 400044, People’s Republic of China

    Lang Liu, Qingcai Liu & Jian Yang

  2. Department of Chemistry, Institute for Combustion Science and Environmental Technology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, 42101, USA

    Lang Liu & Yan Cao

  3. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Cao

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  1. Lang Liu
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Correspondence to Yan Cao.

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Liu, L., Liu, Q., Cao, Y. et al. Investigation of sintered iron ore fines as an oxygen carrier in chemical looping combustion. J Therm Anal Calorim 125, 459–469 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-016-5320-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-016-5320-2

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