Chemical looping technologies for a low-carbon energy future

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In the near future our society will require a range of more efficient and scalable chemical conversion technologies pivotal to the functioning of a low-carbon fuel economy including, but not limited to, low-carbon hydrogen production. Hydrogen is positioned as an important energy carrier in this low-carbon fuel economy; as well as maintaining a crucial role as feedstock for a plethora of processes across the chemical and petrochemical industries.Reaction engineering lies at the heart of such chemical conversions, with chemical looping possessing attractive properties which make it a promising technology for the decarbonisation of energy production. Recent advances have demonstrated that a chemical looping reactor is able to produce a pure stream of hydrogen if the reactor employs a well-designed oxygen carrier material (OCM). The characteristics of a well-designed oxygen carrying material should include high activity, the ability to withstand mechanically abrasive environments (such as those found in fluidised bed reactors) and a low environmental impact upon disposal. Such novel chemical looping processes will lead to transformational developments for the chemical industry and associated energy technologies.The research for this project will involve the selection of appropriate reactions for use in chemical looping reactor systems, the design and fabrication of the OCM, the design and operation of the reactor, economic evaluation of the process and impact assessment of processes that would benefit from such technologies.