Synthetic-Gas Production through Chemical Looping Process with Concentrating Solar Dish: Temperature-Distribution Evaluation

Abstract

The energy crisis and the adaptation of the global energy structure promote the development of renewable energies, in particular solar energy, also for syngas production. In this work, attention was focused on solar devices, necessary to provide high-temperature heat for the reduction reaction of metal oxides involved in the chemical looping driven by solar energy. Thermochemical processes for synthetic-gas production and CO2 sequestration were investigated using a concentrating solar thermal system. This paper proposes a useful forecasting model of the receiver temperature to make a realistic estimate of the system’s producibility for the different periods of the year. The model proposed was validated in the winter season, and the predicted temperature varied below 5% considering the real experimental data (442–472 °C). The validated model was used to evaluate the temperature receiver in spring and in summer, when the thermal level is reliable for thermochemical processes. From the spring season until the completion of the summer season, optimum conditions inside the receiver were reached (above 1000 °C). These preliminary findings could be used for the development of large-scale production systems.