Storage of carbon dioxide captured in a pilot-scale biogas upgrading plant by accelerated carbonation of industrial residues

Abstract

This work reports the preliminary evaluations obtained within the UPGAS-LOW CO 2 project (LIFE08 ENV/IT/000429) concerning innovative methods for biogas upgrading through CO 2 capture and storage. One of the methods studied in this project is chemical absorption of the CO 2 contained in landfill gas with a KOH solution followed by carbonation of the spent solution with selected industrial residues to regenerate the alkaline solution and store CO 2 in a solid phase (calcite). This paper presents the main results of the lab scale experiments carried out to evaluate the effects o f the main operating parameters on the carbonation reaction so to identify the conditions that allow to maximize the CO 2 uptake of the solid residues and the percentage of KOH that can be regenerated for the absorption process. These results provide the dataset for the design of a pilot plant unit to be built and operated in the follow-up of the project.