The enhancement effect of Na 2 CO 3 additive on the reaction of CaCO 3 with SO 2 and O 2 at high temperature is a widely observed phenomenon; however, its mechanism remains unclear. From the solid-state physics point of view, this study proposed that the defect formation caused by the additive may explain the enhanced sulfation. The single-crystal CaCO 3 with a smooth surface was used as a sample for direct sulfation, and the morphology and Na element distribution was investigated with scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. It is observed that the Na ion will diffuse into CaSO 4 during sulfation, and it does not diffuse into the lattice of the CaCO 3 crystal by itself. The relationship of the diffusion coefficient in the solid state with the additive fraction was established and integrated into a new sulfation model. This new model included a simplified rate equation model to describe the product island formation and an ionic diffusion model that describes the productlayer growth. The experimental data on the direct sulfation of limestone, with and without additive, were used to validate the newly developed models.
INTRODUCTIONO 2 /CO 2 coal combustion in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler is one of the promising technologies for CO 2 capture 1 and is currently demonstrated in large-pilot-scale facilities such as the 30MW CIUDEN Oxy-CFB Boiler Demonstration Plant in Spain. 2 In O 2 /CO 2 coal combustion CFB systems, a high purity of oxygen is mixed with the flue gas, and then this gas mixture is introduced into the CFB furnace to burn the coal. Almost no nitrogen is introduced into the furnace; therefore, the CO 2 content in the flue gas can be higher than 95%. 1−4 For the O 2 /CO 2 coal combustion CFB, the sulfur from the coal will be released into the flue gas to form SO 2 pollutant; therefore, limestone is required in order to remove SO 2 from flue gas. Because the temperature and CO 2 fraction inside the CFB furnace are 800−900°C and ∼95%, respectively, in this case, the limestone decomposition is limited by the chemical equilibrium, and the direct sulfation reaction between limestone with SO 2 and O 2 will occur as