A dynamic numerical model of a solar cavity-type reactor for the thermal dissociation of ZnO is formulated based on a detailed radiative heat transfer analysis combining the Monte Carlo ray-tracing technique and the radiosity enclosure theory. The quartz window is treated as a semitransparent glass layer with spectrally and directionally dependent optical properties. Model validation is accomplished by comparison with experimental results obtained with a 10-kW solar reactor prototype in terms of cavity temperatures, reaction extents, and quartz window temperature distribution measured by IR thermography. The solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiencies obtained experimentally are reported, and the various energy flows are quantified.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
Keywords:
solar reactor,
zinc oxide,
thermochemical,
radiative heat transfer,
dynamic modeling,
quartz glass,
optical,
properties,
IR thermography
Topics:
Quartz,
Solar energy,
Temperature,
Cavities,
Radiation (Physics),
Thermography,
Glass,
Fuels
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