Chemical looping for upgrading light alkanes: oxygen carriers, reaction kinetics, and reactor design

Chemical looping offers versatile and efficient pathways for light alkane conversion. It involves breaking down a chemical reaction into two or more separate reactions that occur sequentially in the same reactor or concurrently in different reactors. Key to this process is a solid medium, typically known as oxygen carriers. However, this intricate process demands comprehensive consideration of oxygen carriers, reaction kinetics, and reactor configurations. This review describes the research progress on principles of oxygen carrier design, methods for structural construction, the mechanisms of lattice oxygen diffusion and surface reaction in the oxygen carriers, and the optimization strategies for reactor designs. It also introduces the advances in chemical looping processes beyond combustion for alkane conversion. Future studies could delve deeper into the design of multifunctional oxygen carriers, in-depth investigations of reaction kinetics, and reactor designs to promote the industrial application of chemical looping technology for light alkane conversion. Such advancements hold the potential to revolutionize the field of alkane conversion, leading to more efficient and sustainable chemical processes.