Session: 03-01 Thermochemical Energy Storage

Paper Number: 114787

114787 - Enhancing the Chemical Energy Flux in a Tubular Counterflow Solid Fuel Synthesis Reactor Using Novel Approaches 

Intermittent availability and storage are some of the main challenges preventing the broad use of solar radiation for thermal energy generation. Thermochemical energy storage is a possible path toward resolving this issue and in this work we describe a novel method to increase the throughput of a thermochemical storage reactor using  solid-state fuels. The moving bed reactor encounters particle flowability problems at temperatures of 1500°C associated with sintering of the bed in counterflow operation.  Inertial forces of a counterflowing gas can overcome the gravitational forces on the particles,  and limit the chemical energy storage rate of the reactor. We found that by adding a gas bypass, we were able to double the particle flow rate in the reactor, increasing the rate of energy storage that can be achieved in the reactor and mitigate the effects of sintering on the particles. The operation and design of the reactor are discussed in this work.

Presenting Author: Philipp Schimmels Michigan State University

Presenting Author Biography: Philipp Schimmels grew up and completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering in Germany. Afterwards, he worked in the automotive industry for two years before coming to MSU to pursue a PhD in mechanical engineering. in 2020 he joined a team that started to work on the DOE funded SoFuel project, aimed at developing an efficient solid state energy storage concept based on high-temperature redox materials.