This reactor design incorporates a fluidized bed, a counterflow gravity-driven spouted bed, transitioning to a moving bed.
Background Thermochemical energy storage (TCES) using metal oxide particles has emerged as a promising technology to enable renewable energy dispatchability. The basic principle of TCES is to store energy as chemical bonds in metal oxide particles for short or long-term periods, which can then be released as heat when needed. In addition to providing energy storage, TCES offers several other advantages, including high energy density, decoupled charging and discharging steps for long-term storage, and delivery of high temperature heat (~1000 °C). However, there are inherent mass and heat transfer limitations associated with the oxidation reaction that takes place during the discharge process due to the interaction of solids and gases. While the design space for oxidation reactors offers numerous possibilities, including solid-gas contacting patterns like moving beds, fixed beds, and fluidized beds, there is currently no effective decoupled discharge reactor design that can accommodate a heat transfer fluid different than the process gas or fluidizing gas.
Technology Description This invention relates to a fluidized bed reactor, in particular, to a counterflow gravity driven spouted bed that transitions into a moving bed. The apparatus consists of a nozzle installed within the boundaries of the fluidized bed reactor to temporarily separate a portion of the up-coming gas from the down-coming particles and accelerating the gas to inject a faster stream of gas into the particle bed above the nozzle. Additionally, the apparatus has a downcomer surrounding the nozzle that allows the particles to continue moving down without the need to exit the reactor.
The reactor is filled with solid particles and the fluidizing gas is fed from the bottom of the reactor. The particles move down due to gravity, and the gas moves upward due to higher gas pressure at the inlet than at the outlet.
The purpose of the apparatus is to create and maintain two differentiable gas-particle regimes within the same vessel in a counter flow fluidized bed reactor. In particular, the apparatus permits a spouting fluidized bed regime in one zone where high mixing is required, and a moving bed regime in another zone where less mixing is required, all within the same reactor vessel. The apparatus allows the fluidizing gas and the particles to transition between the two differentiable regimes without exiting and reentering the reactor vessel and without requiring any moving parts.
Benefits
Applications
Opportunity Oregon State University is looking for development partners to scale the reactor and find suitable commercial applications.
Status Patent application submitted 18/935,353