What is Chemical Looping?

Carbon is a problem. One way or another, we are going to have to find a way to reverse the trends of the 20th century and remove excess atmospheric CO2 gas. Long term storage is essential. The road to effectively and economically managing our carbon budget is known to require carbon capture and storage (CCS). Unfortunately, there is not a class of energy technologies that is dispatchable, energy efficient, and cost-effective. At least not yet. Chemical looping combustion, well understood theoretically but without the hype and attention of other technologies, is poised to be a major disruptor. 

Chemical looping is a compelling CCS technology largely hidden from the market’s attention.  It is grounded in years of laboratory research, but the development of a commercially viable chemical looping process has been elusive. CCS technologies are so broad that it is hard to conjure an immediate image. It spans from enhanced oil recovery, which most will find indistinguishable from traditional fossil fuel infrastructure, to hippie-friendly reforestation and regenerative agriculture techniques. Somewhere between these two poles lies chemical looping.

Chemical looping re-imagines combustion processes that have made the modern world possible. By using a metal oxide ‘oxygen carrier’ to supply a carbon fuel with oxygen, it removes nitrogen before the energy release of combustion. This results in a more efficient combustion process, fewer flue gas emissions, and a smaller processing unit, among other benefits. Most crucially, it results in a flue gas stream consisting mostly of CO2 and water vapor. To avoid emitting carbon to the atmosphere, the steam can simply be condensed out, resulting in a pure stream of CO2 ready for sequestration.

ParadOxy Particles is using proven, evidence-based and lab-proven technology to advance chemical looping. Join us in developing this technology and unlocking the next phase of our planet’s decarbonization efforts.