Enhanced Hydrogen Production Integrated with CO2 Separation in a Single-Stage Reactor

Hydrogen production from coal gasification can be enhanced by driving the equilibrium limited Water Gas Shift reaction forward by incessantly removing the CO{sub 2} by-product via the carbonation of calcium oxide. This project uses the high-reactivity mesoporous precipitated calcium carbonate sorbent for removing the CO{sub 2} product to enhance H{sub 2} production. Preliminary experiments demonstrate the show the superior performance of the PCC sorbent over other naturally occurring calcium sorbents. It was observed that the CO{sub 2} released during the in-situ calcination causes the deactivation of the iron oxide WGS catalyst by changing the active phase of the catalyst from magnetite (F{sub 3}O{sub 4}). Detailed understanding of the iron oxide phase diagram helped in developing a catalyst pretreatment procedure using a H{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O system. Intermediate catalyst pretreatment helps prevent its deactivation by reducing the catalyst back to its active magnetite (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) form. Multicyclic runs which consist of combined WGS/carbonation reaction followed by in-situ calcination with a subsequent catalyst pretreatment procedure sustains the catalytic activity and prevents deactivation. The water gas shift reaction was studied at different temperatures, different steam to carbon monoxide ratios (S/C) 3:1, 2:1, 1:1 and different total pressures ranging from 0-300 psig. The CO conversion was found to have an optimal value with increasing pressure, S/C ratio and temperatures. The combined water gas shift and carbonation reaction was investigated at 650 C, S/C ratio of 3:1and at different pressures of 0-300 psig