3D Printed Gas Distributor for Enhanced Production of CaCO₃ via Bubbling Carbonation

Abstract

Bubbling carbonation is the most widely used method for production of CaCO3. A structure-controllable preparation of calcium carbonate with homogeneous crystallinity and narrow particle size distribution is generally required. In this work, a gas distributor is designed and fabricated by light-curing three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to optimize the pore size and distribution of the distributor. The printed gas distributor is combined with a home-made glass vessel to form a simple carbonation reactor without the need for stirring. With the optimized gas flow rate and concentration of Ca(OH)2, this reactor produces small-sized bubbles continuously and uniformly. A homogeneous bubble flow regime can be thus easily formed with the printed distributor, which leads to an enhanced production of calcium carbonate at room temperature with a uniform morphology and narrow particle size distribution. The time required for carbonization is significantly reduced as well. The present study extends the 3D printing to the construction of bubbling reactors with broad applications beyond production of CaCO3.

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