Authors
Jens Keller, Nicole Carina Neumann, Mathias Pein, Stefan Brendelberger, Martin Roeb, Christian Sattler
Published in
Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP. Nov 06, 2026. Epub Nov 06, 2026.
Abstract
Thermochemical oxygen pumping (TCOP) uses reversible redox reactions to remove oxygen at low partial pressures, with heat providing the primary driving force for the thermochemical stage. A redox-active material releases oxygen during high-temperature reduction and reabsorbs it during low-temperature oxidation at substantially lower oxygen partial pressures, thereby transporting oxygen from a low- to a high-pressure environment. Depending on the pumping material and heat recovery, hybrid TCOP can reduce the energy demand relative to standalone mechanical vacuum pumping in the low-pressure regime. This work combines optimization of the thermochemical operating conditions, mechanical vacuum-pump coupling, and sensible-heat recovery with separate estimates of connecting-pipe transport and supporting-pump requirements. The energetically favorable operating parameters , , and are determined for cobalt oxide and Mn- and Fe-based perovskites as functions of inlet oxygen partial pressure and heat recovery factor (HRF), using numerical optimization strategies adapted to the respective analyses. For the detailed Ca0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (CSMO20) operating maps, the calculated specific hybrid energy demand ranges from approximately 288 to 2432 kJ molO2-1. At 1 Pa and 60% sensible-heat recuperation, CSMO20 requires approximately 1245 kJ molO2-1. The investigated Ca1-xSrxMnO3 materials show similar performance: CaMnO3 is most efficient at low heat recovery factors, whereas Ca0.8Sr0.2MnO3 becomes slightly more favorable at higher values. SrFeO3 outperforms these materials over the full range because of its lower sensible heat demand. Co3O4 exhibits the highest efficiency up to HRF ≈ 0.8, where its large oxygen exchange capacity compensates for its energetic penalty; at higher heat recovery factors, the perovskites become more favorable owing to lower oxygen affinity and reduced thermodynamic penalty for oxygen release. Practical cobalt oxide use remains challenged by toxicity concerns and limited cycling stability. Flow-limited transport times through pipes are further estimated, and the effective pumping speed of the companion vacuum pump is inferred from cycle-time constraints. The resulting design maps and operating windows provide actionable guidance for TCOP-based pressure reduction.
PMID:
42993162
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 06 Nov 2026.
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