Finding a suitable oxygen carrier that is both cost-effective and highly reactive across multiple cycles in chemical looping processes remains a challenge. Consequently, this research focuses on the assessment of Fe-, Mn-, and Ni-based ores and mine residues as low-cost and sustainable oxygen carriers. Chemical composition, crushing strength, and attrition rate were determined. Their reactivity was evaluated in a thermobalance with CH4, H2, and CO, followed by assessment in a batch fluidized bed reactor with the same gases. All materials exhibited good mechanical properties at the outset, except MinMnT, which lacked the required mechanical strength and was subjected to thermal treatment. MinFeC, MinFeF, and MinMnT1000 demonstrated effective oxygen transport capacity and high reactivity both in thermobalance and FBR, with no agglomeration and a lifetime ranging between 3000 and 10,500 h. Given the outstanding performance of MinMnT1000 with CO and H2, it is considered an excellent candidate for further evaluation in iG-CLC with biomass.

This study was financed in part by CAPES, providing a Sandwich Doctorate scholarship as part of its PRINT program. I. Adánez-Rubio acknowledges the “Juan de la Cierva” Program (Grant IJC2019-038987-I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and “Ramón y Cajal” Program (Grant RYC2022-035841-I funded by MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FSE+).

13 figures, 7 tables.-- © 2025. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Peer reviewed