Retention mechanism of calcium ferrite and compositions of ash on selenium during chemical looping gasification

Selenium pollution by coal utilization is of increasing concern.Calcium-iron(Ca-Fe)oxygen carriers(OCs)and alkali metal ions have strong inhibitory effects on selenium,which can reduce the emissions of selenium vapor.The retention mechanisms of selenium by Fe_(2)O_(3),CaFe_(2)O_(4),Ca_(2)Fe_(2)O_(5) and bottom ash are investigated during chemical looping gasification(CLG).Iron-based OC can oxidize H_(2)Se(g)to SeO_(2)(g);furthermore,lattice oxygen is released by Fe_(2)O_(3),contributing to the formation of an Fe-O-Se structure to retain selenium and form selenite.Because calcium ferrite is poorly oxidizing,it cannot oxidize H_(2)Se(g),but the CaO produced when OCs are reduced can react with H_(2)Se(g)to form CaSe(s),and this process can be promoted by H_(2)S(g).The best retention rates reached 32.301%when Ca_(2)Fe_(2)O_(5) was used.In the cyclic experiment,the selenium retention of the bottom ash gradually increases.Alkali metal ions in bottom ash are the main factor in retaining selenium.Ca^(2+) and Mg^(2+) do not easily vaporize due to their high melting points;therefore,their selenium retention is significantly better than that of K^(+) and Na^(+).This research provided a new idea for the removal of selenium by using OCs and bottom ash par-ticles during CLG.