Modelling the influence of high intensity radiation flux on particle performance in a hybrid solar chemical looping combustion reactor

Abstract

The temperature variations during the conversion of an oxygen carrier particle exposed to high intensity solar heat flux are assessed as a function of time with an unsteady state model. The conservation equations of energy and mass are solved simultaneously using an appropriate numerical technique, whose reliability was assessed by comparison with the available experimental and numerical data from the literature. The numerical results show that exposing the particle to high flux solar radiation, in general, decreases the conversion time and increases the particle temperature. The calculations also show that convection is the dominant mechanism of particle cooling.