Effects of foam structure on thermochemical characteristics of porous-filled solar reactor

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) Vol. 239; p. 122219
• Main Authors: Zhang, Hao, Shuai, Yong, Lougou, Bachirou Guene, Jiang, Boshu, Yang, Dazhi, Pan, Qinghui, Wang, Fuqiang, Huang, Xing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 15.01.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; Cell size; Ceramics; Computational fluid dynamics; Computer applications; Dry reforming of methane; Efficiency; Energy conversion; Energy conversion efficiency; Energy storage; Fluid dynamics; Foam cell size; Foam-structured reactor; Heat loss; Hydrodynamics; Industrial applications; Mathematical models; Methane; Numerical models; Porosity; Reaction kinetics; Reactors; Reforming; Thermochemistry; Thermodynamic efficiency; User-defined functions; Foam cell size; Porosity; Foam-structured reactor; Dry reforming of methane; User-defined functions
• ISSN: 0360-5442; 1873-6785
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.122219

The foam-structured reactor is one which has hitherto been regarded as of great potential for industrial applications in the field of solar thermochemistry. The utilization mode of ceramic foam has, generally, a significant impact on energy conversion and storage efficiency. This study establishes a numerical model, coupled with computational fluid dynamics and dry reforming of methane reaction kinetics, to find the optimal structural parameters of the ceramic foam. A local thermal non-equilibrium model coupled with the P1 approximation has been developed to address the heat-transfer problems, and the non-Darcy flow effect has been considered to calculate the momentum dissipation in the porous zone. Based on ample simulation examples, the effects of porosity and foam cell size on the reaction temperature, surface heat loss, thermal efficiency, CH4/CO2 conversion, H2/CO yield, carbon deposition, and solar-to-chemical efficiency are illustrated in detail. The results indicate that using the ceramic foam with high porosity and large cell size is able to attain the best thermochemical characteristics, of which the validity can be assured, insofar as the various operating conditions in this study are concerned. Furthermore, as compared to the best single-layer structure, the application of the optimized double-layer foam structure is a more effective solution, which is able to further improve the energy storage efficiency by a remarkable 9.23%. •The significance of foam structure to thermochemical characteristics is revealed.•CFD coupled with DRM kinetics determines reactor characteristics.•Ceramic foam with high porosity and large cell size refines system performance.•The optimized structure could yield efficiency gains of 10–28%.•Double-layer structure further improves energy storage efficiency by 9.23%.