Our partner TTZ Bremerhaven has published two posters about SOCRATCES project in two different conferences.

The first poster on feasibility poster was presented at the 10th ProcessNet annual conference and 34th DECHEMA annual conference of biotechnologists 2020.

DESCRIPTION

The integration of an exothermic chemical reactor with a beta type 1 kW Stirling engine is investigated. In this scheme, solar energy is captured chemically through calcination of calcium carbonate in a calciner reactor, of central focus in this project, and calcium oxide and carbon dioxide are brought together in the carbonator reactor later to release the stored energy. The power-block module is designed to convert the liberated thermal energy in to electricity receiving an air stream heated to high temperatures by the carbonator through a spirally wound heat exchanger. A post-engine heat exchanger preheats the atmospheric air before sending to the carbonator as a cyclic integration was not contemplated to avoid expensiveness and complications for this prototype scale implementation of the scheme. Thermal performance is evaluated under different flowrate and temperature combinations. The experimental findings are then contrasted against the theoretical predictions. While the stand-alone thermodynamic efficiency of the engine is impressive, it exhibits poor overall conversion. The project (SOCRATCES) was authorized and funded by the European Commission under the Grant Agreement number 727348.

(DECHEMA Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e.V. (Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology)

One year later the second poster on CFD was published on the Annual Meeting of the ProcessNet professional group PAAT 2021.

DESCRIPTION

A 1 kW Stirling engine’s heater’s integration with a heat source was investigated in different configurations. The objective was to maximize the heat extraction from the thermal energy-conveying stream of heated air. Due to the geometric and spatial constraints, the heater is ideally not able to cause a substantial temperature difference. In this work, we explored different ways of improving the heat transfer for non-combustion deployment scenarios for these small Stirling engines. The most effective approach was found to involve an opposed-blast arrangement with a hood to enhance the residence time of the stream in contact with the heater surface ensuring escape is not immediate, as it is with some other configurations. The design, based on the application of state of the art simulation computational fluid dynamics simulation software, was constructed and tested to check the consistency of the predicted results and the actual findings. It was found that the simulations had produced reliable prediction, with the engine able to extract more power and generate more electricity as compared to other configurations.