Heat transfer analysis of 5kWth circulating fluidized bed reactor for solar gasification using concentrated Xe light radiation

A combined numerical and experimental investigation of hydrodynamics and heat transfer of internally circulating fluidized bed reactor for solar gasification of coal coke to produce syngas is reported. As the main objective of this study is to study the thermal performance of the reactor, chemically inert quartz particles have been used. A numerical model has been developed by the combined approach of computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method (CFD-DEM). The radiation transfer equation has been solved by the discrete ordinate (DO) model. The experimental data have been used for model validation. The thermal performance of the reactor and the spout-annulus flow have been predicted by the model and other hydrodynamic parameters such as internal solid volume fraction, velocity and temperature of the particles are analyzed as a function of superficial gas velocity (gas flow rate) at different initial conditions.