Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is one of the most promising
methods for carbon capture and storage (CCS). An oxygen carrier, i.e.,
a mineral that can be oxidized and reduced, is used to convert the
fuel in the process. The produced CO
2
is inherently separated
from the air components that enables easier CCS. The use of biomass-based
fuels is desirable since it can lead to negative CO
2
emissions.
On the other hand, alkali compounds from the biomass may interact
with the oxygen carrier causing problems, such as deactivation of
the oxygen carrier. The most common oxygen carriers contain iron,
since iron-based ores and industrial waste materials are readily available
and cost-efficient. Therefore, the interaction between the iron oxygen
carriers and the biomass ash-forming compounds needs to be investigated.
Since Ca/Mg are abundant in biomass, it is important to clarify how
their compounds interact with the oxygen carrier. In this study, the
effect of Ca/Mg carbonates, chlorides, nitrates, sulfates, and phosphates
along with synthetic biomass-derived ash on iron oxides was investigated.
Redox reactions were investigated at 950 °C during 5 h under
both oxidizing and reducing atmospheres. The results showed that the
effect of Ca/Mg salts on the oxygen carrier varied depending on the
anion of the salt. Generally, the nitrate- and phosphate-based salts
of both Ca and Mg showed the harshest effect regarding agglomeration
of the oxygen carriers. It was shown that the Ca/Mg-based compounds
interacted differently with iron oxides, which was an unexpected result.