Sorption-Enhanced Fuel Conversion

This chapter deals with the advancements in enhanced fuel conversion by sorbents. Particular attention will be devoted to sorbent application in power plants for H2 production and/or CO2 capture using both natural gas and coal as feedstock. 

The sorbent can also be used in a chemical reaction, with the adsorbed molecule as one of the reaction products. In sorption-enhanced reaction processes, equilibrium-constrained reactions are driven to the product side, that is, to completion by removing one of the products by using a solid sorbent. The advantage of sorption-enhanced reaction is that the conversion and the separation are combined in just one reactor. Apart from potential equipment savings, reduced energy use for the purification of the main product is the driving 

Process Intensification for Sustainable Energy Conversion, First Edition. Edited by Fausto Gallucci and Martin van Sint Annaland. 

Among several enhanced fuel conversion processes, the most investigated are the Sorption-Enhanced Reforming (SER) process and Sorption-Enhanced Water Gas Shift (SEWGS). The first combines the separation of one product, typically CO2, within the reforming process, while the second applies it to the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction. 

This chapter is organised as follows firstly, enhanced processes concepts are presented (Section 6.2), then the sorbent properties and performances (Section 6.3), thirdly enhanced reactor configurations (Section 6.4) are discussed and finally, examples of performances and economic benefits of sorption-enhanced processes for CO2 capture are shown (Section 6.5). 

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Another interesting concept that can also be used for power production with integrated CO2 capture is sorption-enhanced fuel conversion and is described in Chapter 6. In this... 

For the last 10-12 years, the development of sorption-enhanced fuel conversion has mainly focused on the further improvement of sorption-enhanced water-gas shift using hydrotalcite-based sorbents. Starting with the sorption-enhanced steam reforming work of Air Products, hydrotalcite-based materials were identified as potentially attractive sorbents for a pressure swing-based sorption-enhanced water-gas shift reactor system. 

Sorption-Enhanced Fuel Conversion 201 Table 6.3 Mass flow rate, temperature, pressure and composition of the main fluxes... 

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