Synergistic enhancement of heat and mass transfer and heat storage characteristics in calcium-based thermochemical heat storage reactors

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2025.0048

Abstract

Abstract:

Thermochemical heat storage technology, known for its high heat storage density, low heat loss, and long storage duration, has become a research focus in heat storage. However, limited research exists on multiphysics coupling during thermochemical heat storage, and traditional fixed-bed reactors exhibit poor heat and mass transfer performance, leading to low reaction rates. This study establishes a multiphysics coupling model for the thermochemical heat storage process of CaCO₃ decomposition based on equations such as energy conservation, mass conservation, momentum conservation, and chemical reaction kinetics. A two-dimensional unsteady-state numerical simulation was conducted to analyze the energy conversion mechanism of CaCO₃ decomposition in fixed-bed reactors. The study examined the temporal evolution of indicators such as temperature, conversion rate, and reaction rate during the heat storage process and discussed the impact of reaction conditions, including porosity, inlet gas flow rate, and solid reactant thermal conductivity, on the heat storage process. Simulation results indicated that increasing porosity, inlet gas flow rate, and solid reactant thermal conductivity enhanced the reaction rate of the CaCO₃ decomposition process. By incorporating a permeable high-thermal-conductivity porous channel into the reactor, a synergistic improvement in heat and mass transfer characteristics was achieved, reducing the reactor's heat storage time by 45.09% and pressure drop from 87735 to 10 Pa. These findings provide crucial parameters and guidance for designing and optimizing high-power-density thermochemical heat storage reactors.

Key words: thermochemical heat storage, numerical analysis, CaCO₃/CaO, fixed-bed reactors

CLC Number:

TK 02

Xiaolong SUN, Haiting GONG, Zhen CHEN, Zhen WANG, Rong HUANG, Xianglei LIU. Synergistic enhancement of heat and mass transfer and heat storage characteristics in calcium-based thermochemical heat storage reactors[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2025, 14(3): 1198-1209.

Figures/Tables 16

Fig. 1

Table 1

Physical property parameters"

参数	符号	数值	单位
孔隙率	$ε$	0.7	—
CaO密度	$ρ C a O$	3320	kg/m³
CaCO₃密度	$ρ C a C O 3$	2650	kg/m³
反应器高度	$D$	40	mm
反应器长度	$L$	50	mm
入口通道高度	$d$	3	mm
入口通道长度	$l$	10	mm
指前因子	$A$	1×10⁶	s^-1
活化能	$E$	1.785×10⁵	J/mol
床层热导率	$λ s$	1.33	W/(m·K)
反应焓	$Δ H$	178000	J/mol
反应熵	$Δ S$	-159.7	J/(mol·K）

Table 1

Table 2

Initial values and boundary conditions"

边界条件	方程
$t = 0$	$P = P 0 = 20265 P a, T b e d = T w a l l = 1148.2 K$
$y = 42$	$T w a l l = 1148.2 K$
$x = 0, 0 ≤ y ≤ 3$	$T i n = 1148.2 K, u = u i n = 0.2 m / s$
$x = 70, 0 ≤ y ≤ 3$	$- n ⃗ ⋅ ∇ T = 0, P o u t = 20265 P a$

Table 2

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

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