OXY-3C Project

CO₂ capture by oxycombustion

The project aims to improve knowledge and skills in oxycombustion, considered to be a major process for decarbonising heat production in industry. In this context, a consortium of oxycombustion specialists from the French combustion community wants to optimise oxycombustion processes for carbon capture by considering two approaches :

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) for biomass
Oxy-fuel flames for biogas

The project is based on the consortium’s recognised expertise in advanced diagnostics applied to experimental oxy-fuel combustion infrastructures and high-performance numerical simulation to build refined databases and numerical modelling tools for the development of low-energy, high-efficiency technologies suitable for a large number of applications: gas turbines, boilers, glass, steel, power stations, cement works, etc.

The ambition of this project is to take advantage of the high efficiency and considerable amount of CO₂ in flue gas and to focus on applicable guidelines for negative carbon emissions: biogas, syngas, flue gas.

The scientific objective is to focus on dilute oxygen carriers in CO₂ (non-prioritized enriched air) :

Heat release control (taking into account hydrodynamics in the fluidised bed for CLC, a specific flame structure and oxycombustion stabilisation).
Description, numerical modelling and simulation of heat transfer (convection, radiation, transfer walls).
Reduction of pollutant emissions and avoidance of fouling: NOX, CO, soot and particles, quantification of residual chemical species (CO₂, H2S, Nox, PAHs, VOCs, heavy metals).
Controlling the high volatility of biomass and the impact of tar for CLC.

Five-year term – Projected budget of €2.88m

Regarding oxyfuel applications, the project will intensify multiphysics analysis based on advanced laser diagnostics for in situ measurements under complex conditions, improve kinetic models of oxyfuel flames with high dilution of CO₂ and water, and develop high-fidelity numerical simulation while apprehending the subsequent transfer to industry.

The two approaches will be tested using two different methods :

The use of cryogenic separation of oxygen by electricity (ASU) or membranes or electrolyser combustion gases in industry.
Avoiding the consumption of ASU energy by metal oxides as oxygen carriers in the oxycombustion process.

Expected synergies: PEPR work on the decarbonisation of heat production (via hydrogen, ammonia, biomass), emission control (in particular the development of ultra-low NOx processes, e-fuel production via CO₂ recovery, scaling-up issues, specific instrumentation.

8 PhD students and 4 post-docs expected.