Multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Air and Fuel Reactors of Chemical Looping Combustion

Abstract

The current work presents the simulations of the chemical looping combustion process where the detailed hydrodynamic study of the air reactor and the reactions inside the fuel reactor have been carried out simultaneously. Cold flow simulation of air reactor is performed using Eulerian-Lagrangian dense discrete phase model incorporated with the kinetic theory of granular flow while discrete phase model is used for the investigation of reaction inside the fuel reactor. Hematite is selected as an oxygen carrier because of its active nature of being oxidized and reduced easily. A maximum pressure gradient of 181 kPa is observed between the bottom and top regions of the air reactor which shows maximum turbulence effect and chaotic nature of gas-solid flow in these regions. An average pressure gradient of 75 kPa is obtained between the outlet and inlet of the air reactor which is favorable for particle movement. The circulation rate of hematite is stabilized after 75 s of the particle injection in the air reactor. The analysis of reactions inside the fuel reactor shows the complete formation of CO₂ and H₂O after 20 s of the reactor operation.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Notes on contributors

Pulkit Kumar

Pulkit Kumar is an Assistant Professor in Silver Oak College of Engineering and Technology, Ahmedabad, India. He completed his PhD from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management (IITRAM), Ahmedabad in January 2022 under the guidance of Dr. Ajit Kumar Parwani. His area of research work is carbon capture from anthropogenic sources. He has 9 publications in international journals and conferences.

Ajit Kumar Parwani

Ajit Kumar Parwani is the Department Coordinator and Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management (IITRAM), Ahmedabad, India. He has over 15 years of teaching and research experience. His research interests include heat transfer, inverse heat transfer, computational heat transfer, renewable energy, and internal combustion engines. He has delivered several invited talks, keynote speeches and presented research work in conferences and reputed institutes. He has many publications in international journals and conferences. He has conducted several workshops, short-term training programs, and seminars. He has two ongoing sponsored research projects on inverse heat transfer funded by SERB-DST, Government of India, and Institute of Plasma Research, Government of India.

Vivek Vitankar

Vivek Vitankar is Director at FluiDimensions, Pune, India. He has over 12 years of experience in delivering business solutions for petroleum refining, chemical and allied industries. He is certified in a six-sigma green belt having expertise in various fields such as CFD modeling of processes involving multiphase flows (gas-liquid two phase flows, gas-liquid-solid three phase flows), chemically reactive flows, evaporation, atomization, spray, coal, oil and gas combustion, boilers, liquid-liquid mixing in stirred tanks, gas-liquid interface modeling, and extrusion. He has many publications in the reputed journal and conferences.