Energy to chemicals using direct electrical current flowing through dense beds

一种有前途的能量存储技术是将电流直接转换为化学能，这被称为“电到化学品”（E2 C）。将电能存储在化学品中的一种选择是使用所谓的蒸汽甲烷重整（SMR）和/或甲烷的干重整（DRM）。SMR是甲烷和蒸汽转化为合成气（CO和H2），一氧化碳和氢气的混合物。由于SMR和DRM的高度吸热特性，这两种工艺都需要大量的热量供应。* 本研究项目的主要目标是对用于吸热重整的新型固定床反应器中的传输过程（例如甲烷蒸汽重整和甲烷干重整）有一个基本的了解。该反应器由两种球形颗粒组成：导电颗粒和非导电催化剂颗粒。催化剂颗粒的加入可以提高吸热化学反应的转化率。该反应器的主要特征是使用导电颗粒的电阻加热的应用，其加热反应器内的非导电催化剂颗粒和反应气体。该反应堆的主要目的是将可再生能源产生的电力储存在合成气等化学品中。所谓的生产过剩的电力也可以使用，特别是当电价为负值时。本研究的主要目的如下：**1。多尺度欧拉拉格朗日模型的开发和验证，该模型描述了由流过导电颗粒的直流电加热的多分散固定床中SMR和DRM的传输过程（传热和传质）。关于甲烷转化的放大对反应器效率的影响的数值研究。* 2.实验（实验室规模）和数值研究的蒸汽甲烷重整和干重整甲烷驱动的直流电（DC）用于加热导电颗粒（使用焦耳加热效应），以维持温度的吸热化学反应内的固定床。* 该项目的长期愿景包括开发新的高效储能技术，将可再生能源转化为甲烷和二氧化碳，这两种基本的温室气体转化为合成气，然后用于生产不同的化学品。该项目的短期目标包括开发和验证一个全面的多尺度基于欧拉-拉格朗日的计算模型，该模型可用于预测一种新型甲烷蒸汽重整和甲烷干重整固定床反应器的主要参数。该项目的成功将有助于推进对由焦耳热效应驱动的蒸汽甲烷重整和甲烷干重整基本原理的了解，这些效应由风能和太阳能等可再生能源提供电力。

One promising energy storage technology is the direct conversion of electrical current into chemical energy, which is known as electricity to chemicals' (E2C). One option to store electrical energy in chemicals is to use so-called steam methane reforming (SMR) and/or dry reforming of methane (DRM). SMR is the conversion of methane and steam to syngas (CO and H2), a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Both processes require a large heat supply due to the highly endothermic character of SMR and DRM. ***The primary objective of this research project consists in gaining a fundamental understanding of the transport processes in a new type of fixed-bed reactor for endothermic reforming, e.g. steam methane reforming and dry reforming of methane. This reactor consists of two sorts of spherical particles: electrically conductive particles and electrically nonconductive catalyst particles. The addition of catalyst particles can increase the conversion rate of endothermic chemical reactions. The main feature of this reactor is the application of electric resistance heating using the electrically conductive particles, which heat the nonconductive catalyst particles and reacting gas inside the reactor. The main purpose of this reactor is to store electricity produced from renewable sources in chemicals such as syngas. The so-called overproduced electricity can also be used, especially when electricity prices are negative. The proposed research focuses on the following aims:***1. Development and validation of a multiscale Euler Lagrange model describing transport processes (heat and mass transfer) of SMR and DRM occurring in polydisperse fixed beds heated by a direct current flowing through electrically conductive particles. Numerical investigation of the impact of scaleup on the reactor efficiency regarding methane conversion.***2. Experimental (lab-scale) and numerical studies of steam methane reforming and dry reforming of methane driven by a direct current (DC) used to heat electrically conductive particles (using the Joule heating effect) to sustain' the temperature for endothermic chemical reactions inside a fixed bed. ***The vision followed by the project in the long term consists in the development of new, efficient energy storage technologies to convert renewable energy and turn methane and carbon dioxide, which are basic greenhouse gases, into syngas which can be then used in the production of different chemicals. The short-term goal of this project consists in the development and validation of a comprehensive multiscale Euler-Lagrange-based computational model which can be used to predict the main parameters of a new type of fixed-bed reactor for steam methane reforming and dry reforming of methane. The project's success will help advance knowledge on the fundamentals of steam methane reforming and dry reforming of methane driven by the Joule heating effect, supplied by electricity from renewable energy sources such as the wind and sun.