Heat Transfer Modeling in a Counter-Current Moving-Bed Tubular Reactor for High-Temperature Thermochemical Energy Storage

Abstract An axisymmetric model coupling counter-current gas-solid flow, heat transfer, and thermochemical redox reactions in a moving-bed tubular reactor was developed. The counter-current flow enhances convective heat transfer and a low oxygen partial pressure environment is maintained for thermal reduction within the reaction zone by using oxygen depleted inlet gas. A similar concept can be used for the oxidation reactor which releases high-temperature heat that can be used for power generation or as process heat. The heat transfer model was validated with published results for packed bed reactors. After validation, the model was applied to simulate the moving-bed reactor performance, through which the effects of the main geometric parameters and operating conditions were studied to provide guidance for lab-scale reactor fabrication and testing.