Solar-driven calcination study of a calcium-based single particle for thermochemical energy storage

Abstract

The calcium-based thermochemical energy storage is one of the most promising technologies in the field of solar energy utilization and energy storage. However, the pore-scale spectral absorption and heat and mass transfer processes of calcium-based particles in thermochemical energy storage remain unclear. In this work, the spectral absorption, flow heat transfer and chemical reaction coupling processes are investigated from the perspective of a single modified calcium-based particle. Among them, the spectral absorption properties are studied by Finite-Difference Time-Domain method and Monte Carlo ray tracing method, respectively. At the same time, the flow heat transfer and chemical reaction inside the particles are predicted based on the lattice Boltzmann method. The conversion and storage from solar to chemical energy are realized by simulations and experiments. The results show that the structure and morphology, particle size and solar irradiation flux are the main factors affecting the calcination of single particle calcium carbonate. This method reveals the intrinsic relationship between microscopic spectral absorption and thermal mass transport of single particle, and provides a theoretical basis for the co-design and optimization of photothermal systems at the particle scale.