Study on heat transport analysis and improvement method in a single CaCO3 pellet for thermochemical energy storage

CaCO3/CaO thermochemical energy storage (TCES) pellets have significant advantages in bulk energy storage density, transport, and utilization. However, severe heat transport limitations within the milli-sized CaCO3 significantly affect the TCES efficiency and economy. Currently, investigations on the effect of initial porosity, bulk gas flow velocity, and reaction rate on heat transport and methods of enhancing the heat transport inside the pellet are lacking. In this paper, we developed a mathematical model coupling calcination reaction, mass transfer, and heat transfer to reveal the effects of pellet parameters and operating conditions on heat transport and reaction conversion rate within a CaCO3 pellet. The results show that the size of the CaCO3 pellet, bulk gas temperature, and reaction rate generate the most pronounced impacts on heat transport in a single CaCO3 particle during the TCES process. Furthermore, the heat transport inside the CaCO3 pellet can be improved by appropriately increasing the bulk gas flow velocity. Finally, this paper first numerically investigates the addition of SiC as a thermal conductivity enhancer to improve the heat transport performance inside a CaCO3 pellet. This study can guide the design of high-performance CaCO3 composite pellets and inform the selection of operating conditions for subsequent reactor applications.