ETH Zürich published a scientific publication about SFERA-III in the international research journal, the Chemical Engineering Journal. The paper is available in open access.
Abstract
The combination of pressure swing adsorption (PSA) with a downstream redox chemical looping cycle toremove trace oxygen is proposed for the production of high-purity nitrogen from atmospheric air. The non-stoichiometric perovskite SrFeO3−𝛿is selected for the redox chemical looping cycle because of its favourablethermodynamics, rapid oxidation kinetics and intermediate reduction temperatures. Long term stability of thematerial was demonstrated over 250 redox cycles via thermogravimetry. Oxidation kinetics were measured andincorporated in a 1D convection–diffusion model of a packed bed reactor configuration. The model indicatesthat, for a targeted oxygen impurity level of𝑥𝑂2<3 × 10−6, a chemical looping unit added to a PSA systemcould approximately triple the capacity and reduce the energy demand to14kJmol−1of N2.
References
Authors B. Bulfin, L. Buttsworth, A. Lidor, A. Steinfeld
Cite as Authors B. Bulfin, L. Buttsworth, A. Lidor, A. Steinfeld. 2020-11-17. “High-purity nitrogen production from air by pressure swing adsorption combined with SrFeO3redox chemical looping” in Chemical Engineering Journal, Volument 421, Part 2, 1 October 2021, 127734 ; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.127734
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 823802