Numerical simulation on adsorption of CO2 using K2CO3 particles in the bubbling fluidized bed

Abstract

With the increase of greenhouse gas emissions, global warming has become an urgent problem, and the use of solid adsorbents to capture CO₂ gas in flue gas has attracted more and more attention. In this study, the process of CO₂ capture by K₂CO₃ particles in the bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) is numerically simulated with Eulerian–Eulerian(E–E) two fluid model incorporating with the kinetic theory of granular flows (KTGF). The results are verified through a detailed comparison with experimental data from Ayobi et al. Furthermore, Regarding the fundamental factors influencing CO₂ adsorption rate is revealed, diminishing the inlet gas superficial velocity and augmenting the particle size of the solid adsorbent both contribute to improve adsorption performance. Specifically, the adsorption rate increases from 76.7% to 81.7% at the gas superficial velocity reducing from 1.10 to 0.71 m/s, while the adsorption rate from 77.6% to 79.7% with the particle size ranging from 400 to 600 μm. Additionally, the study delves into an exploration of fluid dynamic characteristics pertaining to gas particles within the bubbling fluidized bed while systematically considering varied inlet gas superficial velocities and particle sizes.