Chemical looping combustion for coupling with efficient CO₂ capture and utilization: stable oxygen carriers and carbon cycle

The capture of CO₂ with chemical looping combustion (CLC) offers a novel approach to significantly reduce carbon emissions while simultaneously utilizing captured CO₂ as a valuable resource by leveraging its inherent CO₂ separation capability. The separation of CO₂ in CLC technology achieves low-cost CO₂ capture through the utilization of highly efficient oxygen carriers (OC), enabling the coupling of CO₂ capture with subsequent hydrogenation reactions for high-value-added chemical production. This review comprehensively summarizes the principle of the CLC technology, the current status of OC research, and the potential for CO₂ capture in chemical synthesis, providing theoretical insights into the feasibility of activating and utilizing CO₂ within practical industrial processes. The stable OC brought about excellent properties and higher application value in the long term operation. The careful selection of a stable OC and the rational design of oxygen vacancies are the keys to enable this technology; however, further research is needed to develop a highly efficient and stable OC to optimize the CO₂ capture efficiency and product yields while elucidating the underlying reaction mechanisms.