Molten Salt Reactor Converts CO2 to Oxygen and Carbon
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current coal gasification processes generate substantial CO2, which is difficult to capture or convert into useful products, leading to environmental issues and inefficiencies in energy use, as they rely on separate oxygen plants that are energy-intensive and require additional resources.
Innovation Solution
A process that utilizes a molten salt reactor to convert CO2 from the gasification process into oxygen and carbon, leveraging heat recovery from syngas cooling to drive this conversion, thereby reducing the need for separate oxygen plants and creating a carbon-neutral energy cycle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If CO2 is captured using conventional sequestration technologies, then CO2 emissions are reduced, but additional energy-intensive infrastructure is required and no useful products are generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts CO2, a harmful greenhouse gas, into oxygen and carbon products that are beneficial to the gasification process. The CO2 captured from the gasification stream is electrochemically converted in a molten salt electrolyzer to produce oxygen (which feeds back into the gasifier) and carbon (which can be used as fuel or material), thereby eliminating the need for separate CO2 sequestration infrastructure and converting a waste stream into valuable resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the CO2 produced during gasification itself as the feedstock for oxygen production. The oxygen generated from CO2 conversion is then fed back into the gasifier to sustain the gasification reaction, creating a self-sufficient cycle that reduces external oxygen plant requirements and eliminates the need for separate CO2 capture and storage infrastructure.
2Reliability
If separate oxygen plants are used to supply oxygen for gasification, then sufficient oxygen is provided for the process, but additional energy-intensive infrastructure and resources are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the CO2 capture function with the oxygen production function into a single electrochemical conversion unit. Instead of having separate CO2 sequestration infrastructure and separate oxygen plants, the system combines these functions by using CO2 from the gasification stream as feedstock for an electrolyzer that produces oxygen, which then feeds back into the gasifier, eliminating redundant infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The molten salt electrolyzer serves multiple functions: it captures CO2 from the gasification stream, converts it into oxygen for the gasifier, produces carbon as a useful byproduct, and generates electrical current that can be used to power the system. This multi-functional device replaces what would traditionally require separate CO2 capture plants, oxygen plants, and power generation facilities.
3Loss of substance
If CO2 is converted into oxygen and carbon products, then CO2 is utilized as feedstock and oxygen is produced for gasification, but additional electrochemical conversion infrastructure is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and chemical form of CO2 through electrochemical conversion in a molten salt electrolyte. By operating at elevated temperatures in a molten salt environment, the system transforms CO2 gas into dissolved CO2 in the molten salt, which then undergoes electrochemical decomposition to produce oxygen gas and carbon. This parameter change enables a compact, integrated conversion process that eliminates the need for large-scale separate infrastructure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for the utilization of CO2 as a feedstock to produce oxygen for gasification, reducing the scale of oxygen plants and generating activated carbon for environmental applications, enhancing the carbon neutrality and efficiency of the coal gasification process.
Implementation Method 1
a molten salt reactor to convert CO2 from the gasification process into oxygen and carbon
Implementation Method 2
leveraging heat recovery from syngas cooling to drive this conversion
Data Source
AI summary
A process and apparatus for the enhancement of syngas (CO and H2) to fuels production utilizing a carbon based feedstock, (for example coal) by exploiting some, or all, of the hot CO2 produced during the gasification step, and converting the CO2 through electrochemical reactions into oxygen (O2) and carbon via a molten salt reactor and directing the oxygen back to the gasifier to minimize or eliminate the need for an oxygen plant, while the carbon by-product (granular carbon) will be used for a variety of adsorbents for environmental applications.