Design of a Particle-Based Solar Receiver for Coupling With a Solar-Driven Pyrolysis Reactor
- 1Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
- 2Politecnico di Milano
Abstract
Particle heat carriers as a heat transport and storage medium for solar thermal applications are an intriguing proposition. As part of the Horizon Europe project PYSOLO, a decoupled solar pyrolysis system is under development, where particulate media serve as an intermediate heat carrier, collecting and delivering heat from a solar receiver to a pyrolysis reactor. A key aspect of this design is a rotary kiln receiver, which offers versatility in terms of particle feedstocks and is the focus of this study. In particular, the modification of a conventional rotary kiln design for application in a concentrated solar tower system is considered. Steep kiln inclination angles up to 30° were studied due to the enhanced solar field optical efficiency and solar flux distributions achievable compared with shallow inclination angles typical of rotary kilns. The particle transport through the rotary kiln, characterized by the time of passage, was studied experimentally at room temperature. The effect of internal structures installed on the inner surface of the kiln on the particle transport behavior was also studied. Both a helix and half ring rib structure significantly increased the passage time with respect to an empty kiln, with a maximum increase of almost 1000% observed with the helix at a 30° inclination angle and rotation speed of 3 RPM. These results indicate the potential of incorporating internal structures to operate a more efficient rotary kiln receiver in solar tower applications.
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BibTeX
@article{kirschmeier2026design,
title = {{Design of a Particle-Based Solar Receiver for Coupling With a Solar-Driven Pyrolysis Reactor}},
author = {Megan Kirschmeier and Juan Pablo Rincon Duarte and Justin Eckstein and Clarisse Lorreyte and Benno Schumacher and Marco Binotti and Gkiokchan Moumin and Martin Roeb},
journal = {SolarPACES Conference Proceedings},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.52825/solarpaces.v4i.3014},
url = {https://doi.org/10.52825/solarpaces.v4i.3014},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Design of a Particle-Based Solar Receiver for Coupling With a Solar-Driven Pyrolysis Reactor
AU - Megan Kirschmeier
AU - Juan Pablo Rincon Duarte
AU - Justin Eckstein
AU - Clarisse Lorreyte
AU - Benno Schumacher
AU - Marco Binotti
AU - Gkiokchan Moumin
AU - Martin Roeb
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
JO - SolarPACES Conference Proceedings
DO - 10.52825/solarpaces.v4i.3014
UR - https://doi.org/10.52825/solarpaces.v4i.3014
AB - Particle heat carriers as a heat transport and storage medium for solar thermal applications are an intriguing proposition. As part of the Horizon Europe project PYSOLO, a decoupled solar pyrolysis system is under development, where particulate media serve as an intermediate heat carrier, collecting and delivering heat from a solar receiver to a pyrolysis reactor. A key aspect of this design is a rotary kiln receiver, which offers versatility in terms of particle feedstocks and is the focus of this study. In particular, the modification of a conventional rotary kiln design for application in a concentrated solar tower system is considered. Steep kiln inclination angles up to 30° were studied due to the enhanced solar field optical efficiency and solar flux distributions achievable compared with shallow inclination angles typical of rotary kilns. The particle transport through the rotary kiln, characterized by the time of passage, was studied experimentally at room temperature. The effect of internal structures installed on the inner surface of the kiln on the particle transport behavior was also studied. Both a helix and half ring rib structure significantly increased the passage time with respect to an empty kiln, with a maximum increase of almost 1000% observed with the helix at a 30° inclination angle and rotation speed of 3 RPM. These results indicate the potential of incorporating internal structures to operate a more efficient rotary kiln receiver in solar tower applications.
SN - 2751-9899
ER -