Concentrating solar power plants typically incorporate thermal energy storage, e.g. molten salt tanks. The broad category of thermochemical energy storage, in which energy is stored in chemical bonds, has the advantage of higher energy density as compared to sensible energy storage. In the ammonia-based thermal energy storage system, ammonia is dissociated endothermically as it absorbs solar energy during the daytime. The stored energy can be released on demand (for electricity generation) when the supercritical hydrogen and nitrogen react exothermically to synthesize ammonia. Using ammonia as a thermochemical storage system was validated at Australian National University (ANU), but ammonia synthesis has not yet been shown to reach temperatures consistent with the highest performance modern power blocks such as a supercritical steam Rankine cycle requiring steam to be heated to ∼650°C. This paper explores the preliminary design of an ammonia synthesis system that is intended to heat steam from 350°C to 650°C under pressure of 26 MPa. A two-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous model for packed bed reactors previously used at ANU is adopted to simulate the ammonia synthesis reactor. The reaction kinetics are modeled using the Temkin-Pyzhev reaction rate equation. The model is extended by accounting for convection in the steam to predict the behavior of the proposed synthesis reactor. A parametric investigation is performed and the results show that heat transfer plays the predominant role in improving reactor performance.
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ASME 2015 Power Conference collocated with the ASME 2015 9th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, the ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, and the ASME 2015 Nuclear Forum
June 28–July 2, 2015
San Diego, California, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Power Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5660-4
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Design of an Ammonia Synthesis System for Producing Supercritical Steam in the Context of Thermochemical Energy Storage
Chen Chen,
Chen Chen
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
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Keith Lovegrove,
Keith Lovegrove
IT Power, Canberra, Australia
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H. Pirouz Kavehpour,
H. Pirouz Kavehpour
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
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Adrienne S. Lavine
Adrienne S. Lavine
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
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Chen Chen
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Keith Lovegrove
IT Power, Canberra, Australia
H. Pirouz Kavehpour
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Adrienne S. Lavine
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Paper No:
POWER2015-49190, V001T01A006; 8 pages
Published Online:
October 27, 2015
Citation
Chen, C, Lovegrove, K, Kavehpour, HP, & Lavine, AS. "Design of an Ammonia Synthesis System for Producing Supercritical Steam in the Context of Thermochemical Energy Storage." Proceedings of the ASME 2015 Power Conference collocated with the ASME 2015 9th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, the ASME 2015 13th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, and the ASME 2015 Nuclear Forum. ASME 2015 Power Conference. San Diego, California, USA. June 28–July 2, 2015. V001T01A006. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/POWER2015-49190
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