Thermochemical Storage Performance of Methane Reforming with Carbon Dioxide Tubular Reactor in a Solar Dish System

The thermochemical storage performances of methane reforming with carbon dioxide catalyzed by Ni/Al2O3 in a tubular reactor heat by a dish solar system were studied under different inlet velocity, solar direct irradiation (694.9-720.5 W/m2). A 3D numerical model considering unilateral solar irradiation with Gaussian distribution was established to predict the temperature and species concentration distribution inside the reactor. The simulation results have a good agreement with the experimental data. The heat and mass transfer of the reactor was investigated with the impact of the catalyst bed length and insulation length. The decline of catalyst bed length will decrease reaction time and avoid reverse reaction, while the insulation will reduce the heat loss and hinder the concentrated solar radiation absorption, which indicate the existence of the proper catalyst bed length and insulation length.