Modeling of a Multitube High-Temperature Solar Thermochemical Reactor for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

A solar reactor consisting of a cavity-receiver containing an array of tubular absorbers is considered for performing the ZnO-dissociation as part of a two-step H2O-splitting thermochemical cycle using concentrated solar energy. The continuity, momentum, and energy governing equations that couple the rate of heat transfer to the Arrhenius-type reaction kinetics are formulated for an absorbing-emitting-scattering particulate media and numerically solved using a computational fluid dynamics code. Parametric simulations were carried out to examine the influence of the solar flux concentration ratio (3000–6000 suns), number of tubes (1–10), ZnO mass flow rate (2–20 g/min per tube), and ZnO particle size (0.06–1 μm) on the reactor’s performance. The reaction extent reaches completion within 1 s residence time at above 2000 K, yielding a solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency of up to 29%.