Chemical looping key to circular economy, say South Korean researchers

(CONNECT) Many green technologies still require fossil fuel-powered industrial operations that emit significant greenhouse gases. Korean researchers now believe that so-called chemical looping, or creating circular economies that recycle and reuse chemicals, could address that problem, according to a January 14 press release.

The research could improve oxygen carriers in various industrial conversion processes, including hydrogen production via steam reforming, ammonia synthesis via nitrogen looping, converting fuels and chemicals into syngas, and producing light olefins and other products. The experts published their findings on January 1 in the journal Renewable Energy.

Entitled “Recent innovations in chemical looping: Fluidized bed design and oxygen carrier performance,” the study’s co-first authors were Jester Lih Jie Ling of Jeonbuk National University’s Department of Environment and Energy, Hyungseok Nam from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Kyungpook National University, and Doyeon Lee of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Hanbat National University.

The researchers studied chemical loops in fluidized bed reactors – the same technology used for water treatment and petroleum cracking. They focused on cyclic oxidation and reducing metal oxide particles, or heating and cooling materials and removing oxygen to purify metals. 

"Our work highlights key advancements in fluidized-bed reactors that enhance reforming, gasification, and hydrogenation within chemical looping systems,” said Ling. “It also emphasizes enhanced oxygen carrier materials with higher reactivity, durability, and resistance – critical attributes for long-term, stable operation." ce/jd