Carbonation Deactivation of Limestone in a Micro-Fluidized Bed Reactor

Asiedu-Boateng, P.; Asiedu, N. Y.; Patience, G. S.; McDonough, J. R.; Zivkovic, V.

doi:10.3390/catal15080697

Open AccessArticle

Carbonation Deactivation of Limestone in a Micro-Fluidized Bed Reactor

by

P. Asiedu-Boateng

^1,2,*,

N. Y. Asiedu

¹,

G. S. Patience

^2,*

,

J. R. McDonough

³ and

V. Zivkovic

³

¹

Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, PMB, University Post Office, Kumasi 00233, Ghana

²

Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, C.P. 6079, Succ. CV, Montreal, QC H3C 3A7, Canada

³

School of Engineering, Merz Court, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Catalysts 2025, 15(8), 697; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15080697

Submission received: 18 March 2025 / Revised: 4 July 2025 / Accepted: 18 July 2025 / Published: 22 July 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluidizable Catalysts for Novel Chemical Processes)

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Abstract

Carbonation–calcination looping using CaO-based natural sorbents such as limestone is a promising technology for the capture of CO₂ from fossil fuel-based power plants. In this study, the CO₂ capture capacities of Buipe, Oterpkolu, and Nauli limestones from quarries in Ghana were measured in a laboratory-scale micro-fluidized bed reactor through multiple carbonation–calcination cycles. The changes in CO₂ capture capacity and conversion with the number of cycles mostly correlated with the changes in the physico-chemical properties: Capture capacity dropped from >60% to <15% after 15 cycles and the surface area dropped to below 5 m² g⁻¹ from as much as 20 m² g⁻¹ (for the Oterkpolu). The pore volume of the Nauli limestone was essentially invariant with the number of cycles while it increased for the Buipe limestone, and initially increased and then dropped for the Oterpkolu limestone. This decrease was likely due to sintering and a reduction in the number of micropores. The unusual increase in pore volume after multiple cycles was due to the formation of mesopores with smaller pore diameters.

Keywords: limestone; reactivity; deactivation; carbonation/calcination; CO₂ capture capacity; calcium looping

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MDPI and ACS Style

Asiedu-Boateng, P.; Asiedu, N.Y.; Patience, G.S.; McDonough, J.R.; Zivkovic, V. Carbonation Deactivation of Limestone in a Micro-Fluidized Bed Reactor. Catalysts 2025, 15, 697. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15080697

AMA Style

Asiedu-Boateng P, Asiedu NY, Patience GS, McDonough JR, Zivkovic V. Carbonation Deactivation of Limestone in a Micro-Fluidized Bed Reactor. Catalysts. 2025; 15(8):697. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15080697

Chicago/Turabian Style

Asiedu-Boateng, P., N. Y. Asiedu, G. S. Patience, J. R. McDonough, and V. Zivkovic. 2025. "Carbonation Deactivation of Limestone in a Micro-Fluidized Bed Reactor" Catalysts 15, no. 8: 697. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15080697

APA Style

Asiedu-Boateng, P., Asiedu, N. Y., Patience, G. S., McDonough, J. R., & Zivkovic, V. (2025). Carbonation Deactivation of Limestone in a Micro-Fluidized Bed Reactor. Catalysts, 15(8), 697. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15080697

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Carbonation Deactivation of Limestone in a Micro-Fluidized Bed Reactor

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