Design of a packed bed chemical looping (unmixed) combustion reactor for the application of heating liquid: A theoretical study

A packed bed reactor (PBR)-based chemical looping combustion (CLC), also referred to as unmixed combustion (UMC), was reported as an alternative to fire in the literature. In this process, the oxygen carriers undergo oxidation and reduction reactions in alternate cycles using air and fuel as the reactive gases, respectively. The energy generated in these reactions can radially be transferred for applications like heating air which was successfully demonstrated. The results showed that 85–95% of the generated energy can radially be transferred while maintaining sustained combustion in the bed (at temperatures between 723 and 1173 K). While extending its application for heating liquids like water, it was found in the modeling and simulation study that the existing design resulted in quenching of the bed below 773 K in the oxidation cycle and achieving sustained combustion was not possible for all practical ranges of operating parameters. Hence it was decided to modify the existing system by increasing the volume ratio of the annular bed to the liquid section. Theoretical estimations revealed that increasing this ratio by four times or higher can result in maintaining sustained combustion conditions in the bed while having continuous radial heat transfer to the water flowing in the laminar range. The general guidelines for designing a UMC-based liquid heating system were then prepared and used to propose a new design for water heating. The modeling and simulation studies for this proposed design also indicated that it is a feasible design. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.