SOLRAD – Heat and Mass Transfer Phenomena in High-Temperature Multiphase Reactive Flows under High-Flux Irradiation

Funding source: external page Swiss National Science Foundation 
Postdoc: Dr. Philipp Furler

Background – The project aims at investigating the fundamentals of heat and mass transfer phenomena in high-temperature multiphase reactive flows exposed to high-flux irradiation. The application is focused on the development of solar reactor technology for the production of hydrogen via steam-gasification of carbonaceous materials using concentrated solar radiation.

Solar hybrid thermochemical processes, as the one targeted in this project, make use of fossil fuels as the chemical source of hydrogen production and concentrated solar energy as the energy source of high-temperature process heat. Industrially relevant examples include the thermal gasification of coal, the thermal cracking of natural gas, the thermal reforming of natural gas, and the carbothermic reduction of metal oxides, for producing synthetic fluid fuels with upgraded calorific value. These hybrid solar processes offer viable and efficient routes for fossil fuel decarbonization and CO₂ avoidance, and further create a transition path towards solar hydrogen.

This project contributes to the advancement of the thermo-sciences aimed at the development of solar chemical technologies that will lead to cleaner, more efficient, and sustainable energy utilization.