Fuel, Vol.200, 435-446, 2017
Euler-Euler CFD simulation of the fuel reactor of a 1 MWth chemical-looping pilot plant: Influence of the drag models and specularity coefficient
Euler-Euler (two-fluid) model was applied to simulate the hydrodynamics of the fuel reactor of the 1 MWth chemical-looping system with Geldart B particles. The drag models of Wen-Yu and Gidaspow were used along with the restitution coefficient of 0.6 and the specularity coefficient of 0 and 1. The results of the numerical simulation were compared with the experimental data from the 1 MWth chemical-looping combustion pilot plant at Technische Universitat Darmstadt. The volume fraction of methane agrees well with the measurements for all cases, while the predicted volume fractions of CO2, CO and H-2 were different from the experimental values due to improper reaction of CO and H-2 with ilmenite. Predicted pressure drop values along the height of the fuel reactor were similar to the experimental values for all cases. Nevertheless all cases overestimate the pressure at the bottom of the reactor by about 10 mbar. Keeping the drag model constant, the outgoing mass flow of the ilmenite was higher for the specularity coefficient (phi = 1) as compared to the specularity coefficient of (phi = 0). This is due to higher rate of reaction for (phi = 1), which is increasing the temperature of the outgoing gases and therefore increasing the gas velocity, resulting in a higher entrainment of ilmenite particles. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Chemical-looping combustion;Fuel reactor;CFD simulation;1 MWth CLC pilot plant;Drag models;Specularity coefficient