Hydrodynamic gas–solid model of cupric chloride particles reacting with superheated steam for thermochemical hydrogen production

This paper examines the transport phenomena of a non-catalytic reaction of cupric chloride particles with superheated steam in a fluidized bed, as part of a copper–chlorine (Cu–Cl) thermochemical cycle for nuclear-based hydrogen production. As both cupric chloride and steam participate in the chemical reaction, it is necessary to develop a new model that predicts the conversion of cupric chloride particles, as well as steam. This incorporates features of a uniform reaction model (Volumetric Model; VM) and a Shrinking Core Model   (SCM). Due to little or no experimental data available for the hydrodynamics and chemistry of the reaction, the above two models are considered as limiting cases. Separate numerical solution procedures are developed to monitor the effects of various parameters on the conversion of CuCl2CuCl2 particles and steam. Also, the new solution algorithms are used to predict outputs for a typical bench-scale reactor and operating conditions. From the numerical results, under the assumption of VM or SCM, the conversion of steam decreases with superficial velocity, whereas the conversion of solid particles increases. Also, a higher bed inventory leads to higher conversion of both reactants. SCM predicts higher values for the reactant conversions, compared to VM. The new solution procedures may be utilized for parametric studies that observe the effects of different process parameters on the fluidized bed performance.