The effect of CaO sintering on cyclic CO2 capture in energy systems

Abstract The importance of calcium‐based sorbents, especially natural limestones, for CO2 removal necessitates an investigation into the sorbent decay mechanism. This study starts from pore size distributions for samples from tests under various calcination/carbonation cycling conditions. A sintering model is formulated to describe the cyclic behavior of sorbents during cyclic calcination and carbonation. It explains the similar reversibility shown by sorbents under different test conditions. A balance between shorter cumulative sintering time and higher calcination rates appears to be responsible for the similar degrees of sintering and sorbent reversibility. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007