Advanced regenerator : a countercurrent fluidized bed regenerator utilizing a pressure gradient for powder transport

Abstract

Renewables should become more continuously available, reliable and cost efficient, while conventional sources and large consumers of heat and electricity should be more flexible and energy efficient - in turn relieving sources - to overcome the energy revolution. Thus process and constructional layouts of two test benches for experimental validation of a concept called the Advanced Regenerator - a highly flexible, short to long term fluidized bed regenerative heat storage utilizing a pressure gradient for hot powder transport and hence enabling minimal losses, high energy densities, compact construction and countercurrent heat exchange - are performed in this thesis. Such devices in decentralized setup - being included in every energy- and especially heat-intensive industry, storing heat or power-to-heat while electricity prices are low and again returning heat to temporally displaced processes or returning 30 % electricity with Stirling engines, where heat is not needed - can well achieve above stated goals. The means for those steps performed are analytic process and thermodynamic rough layout calculations, Computational Particle Fluid Dynamics (CPFD) software and the programming languages Matlab and Python for coding. In the process a method enabling a convenient co-simulation of an Advanced Regenerator with a controller script adjusting a CPFD software is developed, forming the basis for design geometry and execution of further partially automated and controlled simulations.