Receiver reactor concept and model development for a solar steam redox reformer

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As concern over the CO2 emissions associated with power production from traditional fossil fuels grows, there has been more interest in using renewable energy sources such as solar energy. However, there are many issues with using solar energy on a large scale including dispatchability and economically viable storage methods. A potential solution to these problems is using a hybrid solar-fossil fuel power generation system. Within such systems, solar reforming has been shown to be a promising integration method with steam redox reforming as an effective reforming process. In this article, a receiver reactor concept for a solar steam redox reformer is presented. The receiver-reactor consists of a dumbbell shape absorber system that has two distinct absorbers. This absorber system setup allows for the switching between reduction and oxidation steps without having to constantly change inlet streams to the reactor and is designed such that the inlet connections do not interfere with the solar window. In addition, at any point in time only one solar absorber is irradiated by the solar energy (during the reduction step). A computational model is developed to assess its performance. Simulations show that the receiver-reactor strongly absorbs the solar radiation and most of the radiative heat transfer occurs in the front half of the reactor. Moreover, results show that higher conductivity absorber materials yield smaller temperature variations not only within the reactor but also with time, and therefore are more suitable for long term reactor operation.