Moving packed beds for cryogenic CO2 capture: analysis of packing material and bed precooling

This work expands upon previous work on a moving bed cryogenic carbon capture (CCC). Cryogenic carbon capture using a fixed packed bed captures CO 2 frost deposited on the surface of the bed material; this build-up of frost fouls the heat transfer of the capture column and requires periodic shut down of the process to regenerate the bed material and collect CO 2 for further storage. Using a moving bed continuously removes frosted bed material from the capture column preventing the excessive build-up of frost and eliminating the need for a regeneration step within the capture column. This paper sets out two objectives in evaluating an experimental moving bed system with a fixed volume of bed material; i) compare two different types of bed material within the capture column, a high-density ceramic and a steel bed material of similar particle sizes, and ii) combine the precooling step and capture step within the cryogenic capture column to allow the cooling of bed material and CO 2 frost formation simultaneously. Frost front velocity results for the two different bed materials show 0.78 mm/s for steel bed material and 1.81 mm/s for ceramic bed material. Introducing a vertical gas injector into the capture column for additional cooling during the capture step allowed the capture step to be extended to approximately 5 minutes of continuous CO 2 capture.

Automated summary

The moving bed cryogenic carbon capture system prevents excessive frost build-up on the bed material surface and eliminates the need for a regeneration step. By comparing different bed materials and combining precooling with the capture step, the efficiency of CO 2 capture can be improved.