Vacuum-dried precursor to combustion synthesis CuO- based oxygen carriers with less NOx pollutant and its cyclic performance in chemical looping combustion

Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) technology is considered a promising combustion method with inherent CO 2 capture. In this study, the sol-gel method and combustion synthesis were employed to produce precursor materials (P) of CuO-based oxygen carriers (OCs). The effects of vacuum drying conditions on both NO x emissions from precursor combustion and oxygen carrier cycle reaction characteristics were investigated. Vacuum-dried precursors emitted less NO x during the precursor calcination process. At a heating rate of 1 °C/min, the vacuum-dried precursors exhibited an average reduction of 24.13 % in NO x emissions compared with those prepared through atmospheric pressure drying. An increased amount of Cu 2 (OH) 3 NO 3 in the precursor results in greater heat release during the self-propagating high-temperature combustion synthesis used to synthesize the oxygen carrier. Furthermore, the complete combustion of the nitrogen-containing precursor leads to a reduction in the emission of NO x . CuO-based OCs exhibited stable redox reactions over 10 cycles. Vacuum drying enhanced CH 4 conversion and CO 2 yield of OC1 by 14.04 % and 13.21 %, respectively, compared to atmospheric pressure drying. The results indicate that the CuO-based OCs obtained through vacuum-dried significantly enhance redox properties. This study shows that vacuum-dried reduces NO x emissions from nitrogen precursors and enhances the cyclic efficiency of OCs from precursor combustion.