CO₂ recycling using sodium aluminate impregnated corn stover char gasification

The global annual energy demand continues to rise at a rate that requires the use of all energy sources. Most nations have agreed to curb global warming by incentivizing the use of renewable sources and pursuing greenhouse gas recycling. Biomass is a carbon-neutral renewable source of energy as it releases, during burning and absorbs, during photosynthesis, identical amounts of CO2. Oxidation of biomass with simultaneous deoxidation of CO2 provides an accelerated path to its recycling into useful liquids and solids. This paper involves gasification of sodium aluminate impregnated corn stover char with simultaneous deoxidation of CO2 in a fixed bed reactor. Future industrial adoption will be promoted by the use of a cost-effective impregnation methods. Particle sizes relevant to industrial gasifiers (< 75 mu m) were employed. Temperatures within the range 1060 K and 1210 K and pressures within the range 1.3 atm and 5 atm were examined. The impregnated char samples were studied using X=Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to understand the transport and reaction processes involved in CO2 gasification. The char exhibits needle-shaped structures that explain the enhancement in the gasification rate. The results showed that increasing pressure increases the gasification rate at temperatures within the 1210 K to 1060 K range. An increase in pressure from 1.3 atm to 5 atm results in a 150 K reduction (1210 K to 1060 K) in the gasification temperature necessary for an 85% char conversion.