Radiation heat transfer within a solar chemical reactor for the co-production of zinc and syngas is analyzed by the Monte Carlo ray-tracing method. The reactor is treated as a 3D non-isothermal cavity-receiver lined with ZnO particles that are directly exposed to concentrated solar irradiation and undergo endothermic reduction by CH4 at above 1300 K. The analysis includes coupling to conduction/convection heat transfer and chemical kinetics. Calculation of the apparent absorptivity indicates the cavity’s approach to a blackbody absorber, for either diffuse or specular reflecting inner walls. Numerically calculated temperature distributions, zinc production rates, and thermal efficiencies are validated with experimental measurements in a solar furnace with a 5-kW prototype reactor. At 1600 K, the zinc production rate reached 0.12 mol/min and the reactor’s thermal efficiency exceeded 16%. Scaling up the reactor to power levels of up to 1 MW while keeping constant the relative geometrical dimensions and the solar power flux at 2000 suns results in thermal efficiencies of up to 54%.
ASME 2004 International Solar Energy Conference
July 11–14, 2004
Portland, Oregon, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Solar Energy Division
ISBN:
0-7918-3747-5
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer Modeling of a Solar Chemical Reactor for the Co-Production of Zinc and Syngas
Stefan Kra¨upl
,
Stefan Kra¨upl
Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
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Aldo Steinfeld
Aldo Steinfeld
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
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Author Information
Stefan Kra¨upl
Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
Aldo Steinfeld
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
Paper No:
ISEC2004-65035, pp. 547-553; 7 pages
Published Online:
December 17, 2008
Citation
Kra¨upl, Stefan, and Steinfeld, Aldo. "Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer Modeling of a Solar Chemical Reactor for the Co-Production of Zinc and Syngas." Proceedings of the ASME 2004 International Solar Energy Conference. Solar Energy. Portland, Oregon, USA. July 11–14, 2004. pp. 547-553. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/ISEC2004-65035
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