Spray-Dried Sodium Zirconate: A Rapid Absorption Powder for CO Capture with Enhanced Cyclic Stability.

Improved powders for capturing CO at high temperatures are required for H production using sorption-enhanced steam reforming. Here, we examine the relationship between particle structure and carbonation rate for two types of Na ZrO powders. Hollow spray-dried microgranules with a wall thickness of 100-300 nm corresponding to the dimensions of the primary acetate-derived particles gave about 75 wt % theoretical CO conversion after a process-relevant 5 min exposure to 15 vol % CO . A conventional powder prepared by solid-state reaction carbonated more slowly, achieving only 50 % conversion owing to a greater proportion of the reaction requiring bulk diffusion through the densely agglomerated particles. The hollow granular structure of the spray-dried powder was retained postcarbonation but chemical segregation resulted in islands of an amorphous Na-rich phase (Na CO ) within a crystalline ZrO particle matrix. Despite this phase separation, the reverse reaction to re-form Na ZrO could be achieved by heating each powder to 900 °C in N (no dwell time). This resulted in a very stable multicycle performance in 40 cycle tests using thermogravimetric analysis for both powders. Kinetic analysis of thermogravimetric data showed the carbonation process fits an Avrami-Erofeyev 2 D nucleation and nuclei growth model, consistent with microstructural evidence of a surface-driven transformation. Thus, we demonstrate that spray drying is a viable processing route to enhance the carbon capture performance of Na ZrO powder.