Carbons as Catalysts in Thermo-Catalytic Hydrocarbon Decomposition: A Review

Thermo-catalytic decomposition is well-suited for the generation of hydrogen from natural gas. In a decarbonization process for fossil fuel—pre-combustion—solid carbon is produced, with potential commercial uses including energy storage. Metal catalysts have the disadvantages of coking and deactivation, whereas carbon materials as catalysts offer resistance to deactivation and poisoning. Many forms of carbon have been tested with varied characterization techniques providing insights into the catalyzed carbon deposition. The breadth of studies testing carbon materials motivated this review. Thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) rates and active duration vary widely across carbons tested. Regeneration remains rarely investigated but does appear necessary in a cyclic TCD–partial oxidation sequence. Presently, studies making fundamental connections between active sites and deposit nanostructures are few.

Influence of Organic Matters on the Calcium Carbonate Decarbonization Process

Pure calcium carbonate, chalk, and coal wastes are taken as starting materials. The Gibbs energy of calcium carbonate decarbonization reactions is calculated. By the method of thermodynamic analysis, the effect of carbon and its gasification products on the calcium carbonate decarbonization process is investigated. The intensifying effect of organic matter during heat treatment of calcium carbonate is shown. In addition to carbon, the decarbonization reactions are influenced by gases evolved as a result of the gasification of the organic part of the coal waste. It is theoretically proven that the organic component of coal waste contributes to lowering the temperature of the onset and end of the decomposition of calcium carbonate. To confirm the theoretical background, experimental studies of the behavior of mixtures during heating have been carried out. The effect of organic matter on decarbonization of pure calcium carbonate and chalk has been studied. Thermograms have shown that less caloric energy is required for the decarbonization of chalk than for the decarbonization of pure CaCO3. Organic transformations occur in the material layer, which contributes to intensive heat transfer. The products of thermochemical transformations of the organic mass increase the efficiency of the process of decarbonization of calcium carbonate using the waste of coal enrichment in the composition of the raw mix. The organic component of the waste not only reduces the amount of heat energy expended on the endothermic process of calcination, its presence in the raw material mix reduces the temperature of the process of calcination as pure calcium carbonate and chalk.

Applying Response Surface Methodology to optimize the decarbonization process of Timahdit oil shale

The present article aims to optimize the decarbonization of Timahdit oil shale layer Y by removing carbonates from the raw rock using acetic acid. The response surface methodology “central composite design (CCD)” has been used as a method of optimization to study the 3 factors of the process. The factors studied are the concentration of the acid, the processing time, and the ratio (liquid/solid). The optimal conditions with 68.17% of residue rate are obtained with 2 mol/l as concentration, 120 min as a time of treatment and 10.02 for the ratio.The raw (Y) and optimized materials (YO) were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the acetic acid used to remove carbonates affects the chemical composition and the texture evolution of the residues.

Attitudes of heat plant managers as one of the key obstacles to district heating decarbonization in Poland

The decarbonization of district heating in Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries is disappointingly slow. One of the reasons is the lack of expertise in the field of external environmental costs among heat plant managers. The empiric research presented in the work shows that most of them chose coal because of the false belief that it is cheap, while in reality its social cost is high. Helping heat plant managers to improve their expertise in energy production externalities may change their attitudes and accelerate the district heating decarbonization process in that part of Europe. The goal seems to be realistic since the research proves that most heat plant managers are willing to progress in this field.