The Progress in the Research on Optimizing CO₂ Capture Performance of CaO/CuO Composites

The development of efficient and low-cost CO₂ capture technology is an important approach for China to achieve the goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality". The process of calcium looping integrated with chemical looping combustion based on CaO/CuO composites is a modified calcium looping process. In such a process, chemical looping combustion is coupled to substitute the energy-intensive air separation unit commonly used in the calcium looping, thus significantly reducing the system's energy consumption and improving the economy. The calcium looping integrated with chemical looping combustion process has attracted great attention worldwide. The basic principle of the calcium looping integrated with chemical looping combustion process is introduced, and the major challenge that the process faces is described, i.e., a rapid decline in CO₂ capture performance of CaO/CuO composites during cycling operations. Moreover, the modification methods to enhance the CO₂ capture performance of CaO/CuO composites are reviewed, mainly including the incorporation of stabilizer, steam activation and high-temperature thermal pretreatment. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of various modification methods are analyzed comprehensively, and the direction to future research is discussed.