| dc.description.abstract | Methane pyrolysis is a hydrogen production technology that involves the decomposition of methane into carbon and hydrogen gas at high temperatures. It is widely applied in various industrial sectors. The produced carbon is in solid form, resulting in no emissions of carbon dioxide. However, the commercialization of this technology still faces challenges, including the energy requirements and durability of the reactor under high-temperature conditions.
In this study, a new design of a concentrating solar-powered vortex reactor with the addition of a porous material structure is proposed to enhance the efficiency. By modifying the gas flow and temperature distribution within the reactor, the performance can be improved. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are employed to gain insights into the flow field and to study the thermal transfer, mass transfer, and chemical reactions within the reactor.
ANSYS Fluent is used for modeling in this study, which is divided into two main parts: analysis of the porous material structure and simulation of parameter sensitivity. In the analysis of the porous material structure, it is found that both cylindrical and hollow cylindrical porous materials can enhance CH4 conversion rates. When the porosity of the cylindrical porous material is 0.9, the maximum CH4 conversion rate exceeds 98%. This is mainly due to the application of the porous material, which significantly increases the fluid temperature in certain regions and extends the residence time, thereby prolonging the CH4 reaction time. The influence of residence time and temperature on conversion rates is investigated. Sensitivity analysis of operational parameters is also performed to identify the main factors affecting temperature, which are found to be dependent on solar radiation input power. Additionally, the reasons behind the influence of other experimental parameters on temperature are explored.Overall, this study proposes a novel design for a concentrating solar-powered vortex reactor with a porous material structure to enhance the efficiency of methane thermal cracking. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are used to gain insights into the internal flow field and investigate various physical phenomena such as heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical reactions. | en_US |