Chemical storage of solar energy kinetics of heterogeneous SO3 and H2O reaction—Reaction analysis and reactor design

Abstract The first energy recovery step in the ammonium hydrogen sulfate (AHS) cycle is the formation of H2SO4(l) from H2O(g) and SO3(g). It has been determined that the optimum way to accomplish this is by the use of a double pipe tubular reactor. In this paper, a mathematical model for the reactor is presented, applied to the three reaction zones, and a method of numerical solution discussed. Three horizontal pilot-scale configurations, 0.234 × 106 to 5.863 × 106 kJ/h energy release, are discussed and sizing presented. Also, the results for a vertical configuration are presented. The need for additional work on two-phase gas-liquid flow in condensing systems and in annuli has been identified. The most important conclusion is that a high temperature can be achieved in the reactor by the use of a front end adiabatic section followed by nonadiabatic sections to recover the heat released.

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