Energy to chemicals using direct electrical current flowing through dense beds

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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.