Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-bp2c4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-20T06:21:04.403Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Study of CO2 desublimation during cryogenic carbon capture using the lattice Boltzmann method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2023

Timan Lei
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK
Kai H. Luo*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK
Francisco E. Hernández Pérez
Affiliation:
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Geng Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK
Zhen Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK
Juan Restrepo Cano
Affiliation:
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Hong G. Im
Affiliation:
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
*
Email address for correspondence: k.luo@ucl.ac.uk

Abstract

Cryogenic carbon capture (CCC) can preferentially desublimate $\text {CO}_2$ out of the flue gas. A widespread application of CCC requires a comprehensive understanding of $\text {CO}_2$ desublimation properties. This is, however, highly challenging due to the multiphysics behind it. This study proposes a lattice Boltzmann (LB) model to study $\text {CO}_2$ desublimation on a cooled cylinder surface during CCC. In two-dimensional (2-D) simulations, various $\text {CO}_2$ desublimation and capture behaviours are produced in response to different operation conditions, namely, gas velocity (Péclet number $\textit {Pe}$) and cylinder temperature (subcooling degree $\Delta T_{sub}$). As $\textit {Pe}$ increases or $\Delta T_{sub}$ decreases, the desublimation rate gradually becomes insufficient compared with the $\text {CO}_2$ supply via convection/diffusion. Correspondingly, the desublimated solid $\text {CO}_2$ layer (SCL) transforms from a loose (i.e. cluster-like, dendritic or incomplete) structure to a dense one. Four desublimation regimes are thus classified as diffusion-controlled, joint-controlled, convection-controlled and desublimation-controlled regimes. The joint-controlled regime shows quantitatively a desirable $\text {CO}_2$ capture performance: fast desublimation rate, high capture capacity, and full cylinder utilization. Regime distributions are summarized on a $\textit {Pe}$$\Delta T_{sub}$ space to determine operation parameters for the joint-controlled regime. Moreover, three-dimensional simulations demonstrate four similar desublimation regimes, verifying the reliability of 2-D results. Under regimes with loose SCLs, however, the desublimation process shows an improved $\text {CO}_2$ capture performance in three dimensions. This is attributed to the enhanced availability of gas–solid interface and flow paths. This work develops a reliable LB model to study $\text {CO}_2$ desublimation, which can facilitate applications of CCC for mitigating climate change.

Information

Type
JFM Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Figure 0

Figure 1. The schematic diagram of the problem: desublimation of $\text {CO}_2$ in the CCC process.

Figure 1

Figure 2. $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties in case Base with subcooling degree $\Delta T_{sub}=0.17$ and Péclet number $\textit {Pe}=11$. Contours of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$, temperature ($T$) and $\textrm {CO}_2$ mass fraction ($Y$) at time instants (a) $t=8.9\ \textrm {s}$ and (b) $55.8\ \textrm {s}$. Zoom-in views of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ are provided to clarify pore structures of SCLs.

Figure 2

Figure 3. $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties in case Base with subcooling degree $\Delta T_{sub}=0.17$ and Péclet number $\textit {Pe}=11$. Angularly averaged profiles of (a) volume fraction of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _r$), (b) temperature ($\bar {T}_r$) and (c) $\textrm {CO}_2$ mass fraction ($\bar {Y}_r$) at two time instants $t=8.9, 55.8\ \textrm {s}$.

Figure 3

Figure 4. Analysis of the SCL in case Base with subcooling degree $\Delta T_{sub}=0.17$ and Péclet number $\textit {Pe}=11$. (a) Transversally averaged volume fraction of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _x$). (b) Local thickness of the SCL along the angular direction ($\delta _f$). (c) Radially averaged volume fraction of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _\theta$) at two time instants $t=8.9, 55.8\ \textrm {s}$. (d) Zoom-in view of the SCL in the highlighted grey rectangle of figure 2(b) at $t=55.8\ \textrm {s}$.

Figure 4

Table 1. Values of the cylinder temperature $T_w$, the gas injection velocity $u_0$, the dimensionless subcooling degree $\Delta T_{sub}$, and the Péclet number $\textit {Pe}$ in case Base, cases A1-A2 and cases B1-B2.

Figure 5

Figure 5. $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties in cases A1-A2 with Péclet number $\textit {Pe}=11$ and different subcooling degrees $\Delta T_{sub}$. Contours of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$, temperature ($T$) and $\textrm {CO}_2$ mass fraction ($Y$) in (a) case A1 with $\Delta T_{sub}=0.32$, and (b) case A2 with $\Delta T_{sub}=0.05$, at the termination time instant $t_e$. (c) Zoom-in views of the SCL in highlighted grey rectangles for case Base and cases A1-A2.

Figure 6

Figure 6. $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties in cases A1-A2 with Péclet number $\textit {Pe}=11$ and different subcooling degrees $\Delta T_{sub}$. Angularly averaged profiles of (a) volume fraction of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _r$), (b) $\textrm {CO}_2$ mass fraction ($\bar {Y}_r$) and (c) temperature ($\bar {T}_r$), at the termination time instant $t_e$ in case Base and cases A1-A2.

Figure 7

Figure 7. $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties in cases B1-B2 with subcooling degree $\Delta T_{sub}=0.17$ and different Péclet numbers $\textit {Pe}$. Contours of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$, temperature ($T$) and $\textrm {CO}_2$ mass fraction ($Y$) in (a) case B1 with $\textit {Pe}=1.1$ and (b) case B2 with $\textit {Pe}=55$, at the termination time instant $t_e$. (c) Zoom-in views of the SCL in highlighted grey rectangles for case Base and cases B1-B2.

Figure 8

Figure 8. $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties in cases B1-B2 with subcooling degree $\Delta T_{sub}=0.17$ and different Péclet numbers $\textit {Pe}$. Angularly averaged profiles of (a) volume fraction of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _r$), (b) $\textrm {CO}_2$ mass fraction ($\bar {Y}_r$), and (c) temperature ($\bar {T}_r$), at the termination time instant $t_e$ in case Base and cases B1-B2.

Figure 9

Figure 9. Analysis of the SCL in cases Base, A1-A2 and B1-B2 with subcooling degrees $\Delta T_{sub}=0.05, 0.17, 0.32$ and Péclet numbers $\textit {Pe}=1.1, 11, 55$ at the termination state. (a) Transversally averaged volume fraction of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _x$). (b) Local thickness of the SCL along the angular direction ($\delta _f$). (c) Radially averaged volume fraction of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _\theta$). The four desublimation regimes are joint-controlled (I), diffusion-controlled (II), desublimation-controlled (III) and convection-controlled (IV).

Figure 10

Figure 10. Analysis of $\textrm {CO}_2$ capture performance in cases Base, A1-A2 and B1-B2 with subcooling degrees $\Delta T_{sub}=0.05, 0.17, 0.32$ and Péclet numbers $\textit {Pe}=1.1, 11, 55$. (a) The volume fraction of captured solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _c$). (b) The capture efficiency of the injected $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\eta _c$). (c) The overall desublimation rate ($m_r^*$). (d) The utilization of the cylinder surface ($\eta _s$). The four desublimation regimes are joint-controlled (I), diffusion-controlled (II), desublimation-controlled (III) and convection-controlled (IV).

Figure 11

Figure 11. Analysis of $\textrm {CO}_2$ capture performance in cases with varying subcooling degrees $\Delta T_{sub}$ and Péclet numbers $\textit {Pe}$. (a) The volume fraction of captured solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _c$). (b) The capture efficiency of the injected $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\eta _c$). (c) The overall desublimation rate ($m_r^*$). (d) The utilization of the cylinder surface ($\eta _s$).

Figure 12

Figure 12. Analysis of $\textrm {CO}_2$ capture performance in cases with varying subcooling degrees $\Delta T_{sub}$ and Péclet numbers $\textit {Pe}$. Data points of desublimation simulations plotted against $\Delta T_{sub}$ and $\textit {Pe}$. The grey dashed lines divide the plane into four desublimation regimes: joint-controlled (I), diffusion-controlled (II), desublimation-controlled (III) and convection-controlled (IV).

Figure 13

Figure 13. $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties in three dimensions. Contours of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ and zoom-in views of SCL in cases (a) Base, (b) A1, (c) A2, (d) B1 and (e) B2. The four desublimation regimes are joint-controlled (I), diffusion-controlled (II), desublimation-controlled (III) and convection-controlled (IV).

Figure 14

Figure 14. Comparison of $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties between 2-D and 3-D simulations for cases Base and A1-A2. (a) The volume fraction of captured solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _c$). (b) The capture efficiency of injected $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\eta _c$). (c) The overall desublimation rate ($m_r^*$). (d) The utilization of the cylinder surface ($\eta _s$). The three desublimation regimes are joint-controlled (I), diffusion-controlled (II) and desublimation-controlled (III).

Figure 15

Figure 15. Comparison of $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation properties between 2-D and 3-D simulations for cases Base and B1-B2. (a) The volume fraction of captured solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _c$). (b) The capture efficiency of injected $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\eta _c$). (c) The overall desublimation rate ($m_r^*$). (d) The utilization of the cylinder surface ($\eta _s$). The three desublimation regimes are joint-controlled (I), desublimation-controlled (III) and convection-controlled (IV).

Figure 16

Figure 16. Sensitivity tests of $R_{dp}$. Zoom-in views of SCL in cases (a) Base, (b) A1, (c) A2, (d) B1 and (e) B2, with the desublimation probability ratio $R_{dp}=1:1$. The four desublimation regimes are joint-controlled (I), diffusion-controlled (II), desublimation-controlled (III) and convection-controlled (IV).

Figure 17

Figure 17. Sensitivity tests of $R_{dp}$. Temporal evolutions of (a) the volume fraction of captured solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _c$), (b) the capture efficiency of injected $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\eta _c$), (c) the overall desublimation rate ($m_r^*$) and (d) the utilization of cylinder surface ($\eta _s$) in cases Base, A1-A2 and B1-B2, with the desublimation probability ratio $R_{dp}=1:1$. The four desublimation regimes are joint-controlled (I), diffusion-controlled (II), desublimation-controlled (III) and convection-controlled (IV).

Figure 18

Figure 18. Sensitivity tests of $R_{dp}$. Temporal evolutions of (a) the volume fraction of captured solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _c$), (b) the capture efficiency of injected $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\eta _c$), (c) the overall desublimation rate ($m_r^*$) and (d) the utilization of cylinder surface ($\eta _s$) in case Base, with four desublimation probability ratios $R_{dp}=1:0.25, 1:0.50,1:0.75, 1:1$. The desublimation regime I is the joint-controlled regime.

Figure 19

Figure 19. Validation case of $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation over a single packing immersed in the quiescent flue gas. (a) Computational domain and boundary conditions. (b) Comparing temporal evolutions of SCL thickness between the present LB simulations and simulations in Debnath et al. (2019).

Figure 20

Figure 20. Validation case of $\textrm {CO}_2$ desublimation in a cryogenic packed with flue gas feed flow. (a) Computational domain and boundary conditions. (b) Comparison of the outgoing $\textrm {CO}_2$ content between the present LB results and experimental measurements in Ali et al. (2014).

Figure 21

Figure 21. Grid convergence test. Contours of solid $\textrm {CO}_2$, temperature ($T$) and $\textrm {CO}_2$ mass fraction ($Y$) at $t=55.8\ \textrm {s}$ in case Base with three grid resolutions: (a) $384\times 384$, (b) $640\times 640$ and (c) $1024\times 1024$. Zoom-in views of the SCL in highlighted grey rectangles are provided.

Figure 22

Figure 22. Grid convergence test. Temporal evolutions of (a) the volume fraction of captured solid $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\phi _c$), (b) the capture efficiency of injected $\textrm {CO}_2$ ($\eta _c$), (c) the overall desublimation rate ($m_r^*$) and (d) the utilization of cylinder surface ($\eta _s$), in case Base with three grid resolutions.

Supplementary material: File

Lei et al. supplementary material

Lei et al. supplementary material

Download Lei et al. supplementary material(File)
File 2.9 MB