A review of solar methane reforming systems

Because of the increasing demand for energy and the associated rise in greenhouse gas emissions, there is much interest in the use of renewable sources such as solar energy in electricity and fuels generation. One problem with solar energy, however, is that it is difficult to economically convert the radiation into usable energy at the desired locations and times, both daily and seasonally. One method to overcome this space-time intermittency is through the production of chemical fuels. In particular, solar reforming is a promising method for producing chemical fuels by reforming and/or water/carbon dioxide splitting. In this paper, a review of solar reforming systems is presented, as well as a comparison between these systems and a discussion on areas for potential innovation including chemical looping and membrane reactors. Moreover, a brief overview of catalysis in the context of reforming is presented

Conjugate Effects on Steady Laminar Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Vertical Eccentric Annuli

Combined conduction-free convection heat transfer in vertical eccentric annuli is numerically investigated using finite-difference technique. Numerical results are presented for a fluid of Prandtl number 0.7 in an annulus of radius ratio 0.5 and dimensionless eccentricity 0.5. The conjugation effect on the induced flow rate and the total heat absorbed in the annulus is presented for the case of one wall being isothermally heated while the other wall is kept at inlet fluid temperature. The conjugate effects are controlled by solid-fluid conductivity ratio, cylinder walls thickness and dimensionless channel height (i.e. Grashof number). Solid-fluid conductivity ratio is varied over a range that covers practical cases with commonly encountered inner and outer walls thickness. Values of conductivity ratio over which conjugate effect can be neglected have been obtained

Conjugate Effects on Steady Laminar Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Vertical Eccentric Annuli

Combined conduction-free convection heat transfer in vertical eccentric annuli is numerically investigated using finite-difference technique. Numerical results are presented for a fluid of Prandtl number 0.7 in an annulus of radius ratio 0.5 and dimensionless eccentricity 0.5. The conjugation effect on the induced flow rate and the total heat absorbed in the annulus is presented for the case of one wall being isothermally heated while the other wall is kept at inlet fluid temperature. The conjugate effects are controlled by solid-fluid conductivity ratio, cylinder walls thickness and dimensionless channel height (i.e. Grashof number). Solid-fluid conductivity ratio is varied over a range that covers practical cases with commonly encountered inner and outer walls thickness. Values of conductivity ratio over which conjugate effect can be neglected have been obtained

Entropy generation due to mixed convection between vertical parallel plates under isoflux/isothermal boundary conditions

Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Turkey, 19-21 July, 2010.The optimum values of the modified buoyancy parameter (Gr!R.e)optimum at which the entropy generation assumes its minimum for fully developed mixed convection in vertical channel between parallel plates have been obtained analytically and presented in this article for thermal boundary condition of the 4th kind. This thermal boundary condition is obtained via subjecting one plate to uniform heat flux (isoflux) while keeping the opposite plate isothermal. The effects of other operating parameters on the entropy generation are also discussed.ej201