Flow characteristics simulation of spiral coil reactor used in the thermochemical energy storage system

According to environmental and energy issues,renewable energy has been vigorously promoted.Now solar power is widely used in many areas but it is limited by the weather conditions and cannot work continuously.Heat storage is a considerable solution for this problem and thermochemical energy storage is the most promising way because of its great energy density and stability.However,this technology is not mature enough to be applied to the industry.The reactor is an important component in the thermochemical energy storage system where the charging and discharging process happens.In this paper,a spiral coil is proposed and used as a reactor in the thermochemical energy storage system.The advantages of the spiral coil include simple structure,small volume,and so on.To investigate the flow characteristics,the simulation was carried out based on energy-minimization multi-scale model(EMMS)and Eulerian two-phase model.CaCO_(3) particles were chosen as the reactants.Particle distribution was shown in the results.The gas initial velocity was set to 2 m·s^(-1),3 m·s^(-1),and 4 m·s^(-1).When the particles flowed in the coil,gravity,centrifugal force and drag force influenced their flow.With the Reynold numbers increasing,centrifugal and drag force got larger.Accumulation phenomenon existed in the coil and results showed with the gas velocity increasing,accumulation moved from the bottom to the outer wall of the coil.Besides,the accumulation phenomenon was stabilized whenφ>720°.Also due to the centrifugal force,a secondary flow formed,which means solid particles moved from the inside wall to the outside wall.This secondary flow could promote turbulence and mixing of particles and gas.In addition,when the particle volume fraction is reduced from 0.2 to 0.1,the accumulation at the bottom of the coil decreases,and the unevenness of the velocity distribution becomes larger.

Modeling and Control of a Biodiesel Transesterification Reactor

Dynamic Models for predicting the concentration profiles of the reactants and product in a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor for the transesterification of used cooking oil (triglyceride) to biodiesel has been developed using the principle of conservation of mass. The developed system of differential equations were integrated numerically using fourth order Runge-Kutta algorithm embedded in ode 45 solver of 7.5 Mathlab program. The models were validated by solving the model equations with kinetic data and other relevant data from literatures. The results and trends were similar and in agreement with those from these literatures. Simulations of the reactor to (±) step changes in the inlet flowrates of the reactants (used cooking oil and methanol) showed great effect on biodiesel production, (instability—oscillations and reduction in output concentration of biodiesel). A feedback control strategy was developed with a Proportional-Integral (PI) Controller and a close loop model was developed for control studies. The closed loop response of the reactor output (biodiesel concentration) showed continuous oscillatory response with offset. Hence the controller parameters (proportional gain Kc and integral time ) were tuned using the “On-Line Trial and Error Method” implemented using MathLab Simulink to obtain optimum values that ensured quick stability of the closed-loop system, reduced or no oscillatory response and no offset. The optimum controller parameters were: proportional gain Kc =8.306 and integral time = 17.157 minutes.