Solar reactor

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a solar reactor, comprising: a main body, wherein a reaction cavity is defined in the main body, the main body is provided with a light-transmitting opening configured to accommodate incident light formed by light collected from the outside of the reaction cavity so as to enter the reaction cavity, and the incident light is diverged in the reaction cavity to form divergent light diverging in the reaction cavity; and a solid component, provided in the reaction cavity, wherein the solid component is provided with a protruding portion protruding towards the middle of the reaction cavity, at least one part of the light-facing surface of the protruding portion facing the divergent light is constructed to form an included angle of not 90 degrees with the projection direction of the divergent light, so that the divergent light extends in the thickness direction of the solid component, and the solid component is made of a material that is used as an oxide carrier or a catalyst in a chemical reaction in which solar energy is used as a heat source.

Description

solar reactor

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the Patent Office of China on August 25, 2023, with application number 202311081597.2 and invention name “Solar Reactor”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this disclosure. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure belongs to the technical field of solar energy utilization, and particularly relates to a solar reactor. Background Art

[0003] Solar energy can be applied in fields such as thermochemical conversion, such as as a heat source for gas-solid or liquid-solid chemical reactions. Solar reactors are widely used in oxidation / reduction reactions or catalytic reactions that use solar energy as a heat source.

[0004] Currently used solar reactors primarily consist of a main body and a solid component disposed within the main body. The main body comprises a shell and a thermally insulating material disposed within the shell, serving as a reaction vessel. The solid component is made of oxygen carriers or catalysts to meet the requirements of different chemical reactions, such as providing a reaction site for thermochemical reactions. The efficient transfer of high-temperature solar energy is a prerequisite for these two types of thermochemical reactions. However, the directional nature of sunlight propagation significantly limits the effective transfer of concentrated solar energy to the reaction sites provided by the solid component.

[0005] Because the materials used in solid components (such as metal oxides) are generally opaque, during the thermochemical reaction, sunlight can only irradiate the inner surface of the layered solid components. Moreover, since solid components also have the characteristic of poor thermal conductivity, the transfer of heat energy within the solid components is further hindered.

[0006] To address the above-mentioned deficiencies, although the prior art can configure the solid component into a porous structure so that the sunlight can be irradiated as far as possible into the interior of the solid component along the depth direction of the solid component, the irradiation intensity of the sunlight will still be exponentially attenuated as the depth increases. Therefore, the total amount of materials that can effectively participate in the thermochemical reaction as a catalyst or oxygen carrier is severely limited, affecting the production rate of the products of the thermochemical reaction and / or the energy conversion efficiency. Furthermore, the sunlight that enters the main body is scattered roughly in a direction perpendicular to the inner surface of the solid component, which can easily lead to local hot spots in the irradiated part of the solid component, resulting in uneven heating of the solid component as a whole, making the high-temperature part of the solid component prone to melting, sublimation and / or cracking.

[0007] Therefore, how to optimize the structure of solid components in solar reactors, solve the limitations of solar thermal energy transfer caused by the directionality of the solar energy focusing-divergence process, enable solar energy to be more effectively transferred to the deep part of the solid component materials, thereby significantly increasing the proportion of materials that effectively participate in thermochemical reactions, and at the same time solve the uneven heating of solid components, has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently to improve the conversion effect of solar thermochemical reactors.

[0008] Summary of the Invention

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a solar reactor. The protrusions formed by the solid components, on the one hand, have a larger surface area that can be exposed to sunlight than the solid components in the prior art that are constructed into a layered structure. The density of the solar energy flow per unit surface area of ​​the solid components is reduced due to the change of the incident direction from vertical to inclined, so that the reactor can accept higher-power solar energy input and improve the solar heat collection efficiency of the reactor; on the other hand, because the divergent light can extend in the depth direction of the reactor through adjacent protrusions, the total amount of material of the solid components that can effectively participate in the thermochemical reaction can be increased; on the other hand, because the protrusions form a three-dimensional structure, the heat energy on the surface of the solid components can also be transferred inward in all directions of the protrusions, which not only alleviates the attenuation of solar energy along the depth direction of the solid components, but also balances the local heating, which is conducive to reducing or even eliminating the formation of local hot spots.

[0010] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a solar reactor, comprising: a main body, wherein a reaction chamber is defined within the main body, and the main body is provided with a light-transmitting port configured to accommodate the incident light formed by light gathered from the outside of the reaction chamber to enter the reaction chamber, wherein the incident light is dispersed within the reaction chamber to form the divergent light dispersed within the reaction chamber; and a solid component, disposed within the reaction chamber, wherein the solid component is provided with a protrusion protruding toward the middle of the reaction chamber, and at least a portion of a light-facing surface of the protrusion facing the divergent light is constructed to form an angle other than 90° with the projection direction of the divergent light, so that the divergent light extends along the thickness direction of the solid component; wherein the solid component is made of a material used as an oxygen carrier or catalyst in a chemical reaction using solar energy as a heat source.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the above-mentioned solid component includes a plurality of solid components, each of which forms at least one of the above-mentioned protrusions; wherein, the plurality of the above-mentioned solid components are configured to be radially arranged on the inner surface of the above-mentioned main body with the divergence point where the above-mentioned incident light diverges to form the above-mentioned divergent light as the center.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the light-facing surface of the solid component forms an inclined surface inclined from an upper portion to a lower portion, and an angle formed by the inclined surface and a projection direction of the divergent light includes an acute angle.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance between the upper parts of two adjacent solid components is configured to be greater than or equal to the distance between the lower parts, so that a light-transmitting area is formed between the two adjacent solid components, which gradually shrinks from the divergence point to the other side.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the divergence point includes a focus where the incident light converges, and the incident light freely diverges through the divergence point to form the divergent light.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the solar reactor further includes a diverging component, which is disposed on the optical path of the incident light in the light-transmitting port and configured to diverge the incident light radially toward the interior of the reaction chamber to form the divergent light.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the solid member is configured into a pyramidal structure.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of the solid members are arranged in rows and / or columns on the inner surface of the main body.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of the solid members are arranged in a ring form on the inner surface of the main body.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the solid component is configured as a porous structure.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pore sizes of the porous structure formed by the solid components are configured to be substantially the same.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pore size of the porous structure formed by the solid component is configured to gradually decrease from the outer layer to the inner side of the solid component.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the solar reactor further includes: a reactant input mechanism configured to input reactants into the above-mentioned reaction chamber; and a product output mechanism configured to output products generated by the above-mentioned reactants from the above-mentioned reaction chamber; wherein the above-mentioned reactants and products include gas or liquid.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reactant input mechanism is configured to communicate with a side portion of the main body to serve as an input end of the reaction chamber.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the product output mechanism is configured to communicate with the bottom of the main body to serve as an output end of the reaction chamber.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the main body includes a shell and a heat-insulating layer disposed in the shell, and a reaction chamber is defined in the heat-insulating layer.

[0026] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reaction chamber has a first mounting surface forming a hemispherical concave surface, and the solid component is arranged on the first mounting surface.

[0027] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reaction chamber has a second mounting surface extending along a plane, and the solid component is arranged on the second mounting surface.

[0028] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the main body includes a base having an opening and a cover disposed at the opening position of the base, and the light-transmitting opening is provided in the middle of the cover.

[0029] According to the solar reactor provided by the present disclosure, a reaction chamber is defined in the main body, and a light-transmitting port provided on the main body is configured to introduce the collected incident light into the reaction chamber. The protrusion formed by the solid component, on the one hand, has a larger surface area that can be exposed to sunlight than the solid component in the prior art that is constructed into a layered structure. The density of the solar energy flow per unit surface area of ​​the solid component is reduced because the incident direction is changed from vertical to inclined, so that the reactor can accept higher-power solar energy input and improve the solar heat collection efficiency of the reactor; on the other hand, since the divergent light can extend in the depth direction of the reactor through the adjacent protrusions, the total amount of material of the solid component that can effectively participate in the thermochemical reaction can be increased; on the other hand, since the protrusion forms a three-dimensional structure, the heat energy on the surface of the solid component can also be transferred inward in all directions of the protrusion, which not only alleviates the attenuation of solar energy along the depth direction of the solid component, but also balances the local heating, which is conducive to reducing or even eliminating the formation of local hot spots. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG1 is a cross-sectional view of a solar reactor according to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a portion of the reaction chamber of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 ;

[0032] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the porosity of porous materials used in the solid components of the solar reactor shown in FIG1 ;

[0033] FIG4 is a light path diagram of a diverging component of a solar reactor according to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 ;

[0034] FIG5 is a solid member of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a cone-shaped solid member;

[0035] FIG6 is another solid member of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a pyramidal solid member;

[0036] FIG7 is another solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a solid component of a star-shaped cone;

[0037] FIG8 is another solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a solid component having a curved cone shape;

[0038] FIG9 is another solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing another solid component having a curved cone shape;

[0039] FIG10 is another solid member of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a solid member in the form of an annular cone;

[0040] FIG. 11 is another solid member of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , showing a strip-cone-shaped solid member.

[0041] In the accompanying drawings, the meanings of the accompanying drawings are as follows: 1. divergence point; 2. main body; 21. cover; 211. light-transmitting port; 22. base; 3. solid component; 31. light-facing surface; 4. divergent light; 5. incident light; 6. collection and control mechanism; 7. reactant input mechanism; 8. product output mechanism; and 9. light source. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The following further describes the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The terms used herein are intended only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The terms "comprise," "include," and the like as used herein indicate the presence of the described features, steps, operations, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, or components.

[0043] All terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. It should be noted that the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the context of this specification and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly rigid manner.

[0044] When expressions such as “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” are used, they should generally be interpreted in accordance with the meaning commonly understood by those skilled in the art. For example, “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” should include but is not limited to systems having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or A, B, and C, etc. When expressions such as “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” are used, they should generally be interpreted in accordance with the meaning commonly understood by those skilled in the art. For example, “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” should include but is not limited to systems having A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or A, B, and C, etc.

[0045] FIG1 is a cross-sectional view of a solar reactor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a reaction chamber portion of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 .

[0046] According to the solar reactor provided by the present disclosure, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, it includes a main body 2 and a solid component. A reaction chamber is defined within the main body 2, and a light-transmitting port 211 is provided on the main body 2 for accommodating incident light 5 formed by light gathered from the outside of the reaction chamber to enter the reaction chamber. The incident light 5 is dispersed in the reaction chamber to form divergent light 4 that is dispersed in the reaction chamber. The solid component is disposed in the reaction chamber, and a protrusion protruding toward the middle of the reaction chamber is provided on the solid component. At least a portion of the light-facing surface 31 of the protrusion facing the divergent light 4 is configured to form a non-90° angle with the projection direction of the divergent light, so that the divergent light 4 extends along the thickness direction of the solid component. The solid component is made of a material used as an oxygen carrier or catalyst for thermochemical reactions.

[0047] In such an embodiment, a reaction chamber is defined within the main body, and a light-transmitting port provided on the main body is configured to introduce the collected incident light into the reaction chamber. The protrusion formed by the solid component, on the one hand, has a larger surface area that can be exposed to sunlight than the solid component constructed into a layered structure of the prior art, and the solar energy flux density per unit surface area of ​​the solid component is reduced, so that the reactor can accept higher power solar energy input, thereby improving the solar heat collection efficiency of the reactor; on the other hand, since the divergent light can extend toward the depth direction of the reactor through the adjacent protrusions, the total amount of material of the solid component that can effectively participate in the thermochemical reaction can be increased; on the other hand, since the protrusion forms a three-dimensional structure, the heat energy on the surface of the solid component can also be transferred inward along all directions of the protrusion, which not only alleviates the attenuation of solar energy along the depth direction of the solid component, but also balances the local heating, which is conducive to reducing or even eliminating the formation of local hot spots. Furthermore, the solid component forming the protrusion also makes more full use of the internal space of the solar reactor, greatly increases the total loading amount of oxygen carriers or catalysts, and is conducive to effectively improving the reaction products and energy conversion efficiency.

[0048] Furthermore, based on the structure configured by the solar reactor, it can be approximately regarded as a black body that completely absorbs the incident sunlight and forms black body radiation in the reaction chamber. In the prior art, the solar divergent light is vertically incident on the surface of the layered structure of the solid component, while the black body radiation formed inside the solar reactor has the same irradiation direction on the surface of the solid component as the direct irradiation direction of the divergent light, and the intensity is weaker. Therefore, there is also severe attenuation, and it cannot play the role of continuing to enhance the energy transfer on the basis of the divergent light directly irradiated on the inner surface. Based on the fact that the above-mentioned protrusion forms an angle of non-90° with the projection direction of the divergent light, the intensity of the divergent light is greatly reduced, resulting in the primary irradiation effect of the divergent light on the light-facing surface and the secondary irradiation effect generated by the black body radiation being closer, so that the black body radiation can produce a beneficial supplement to the direct incidence of the divergent light, thereby improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar energy based on the three-dimensional structure formed by the protrusion. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0049] For example, the solar reactor can also be used in liquid-solid two-phase chemical reactions using solar energy as a heat source.

[0050] Furthermore, the above-mentioned solar reactor includes but is not limited to being used for thermochemical reactions (such as oxidation / reduction reactions or catalytic reactions), photocatalytic reactions, photoelectrocatalytic reactions or other chemical reactions configured to use solar energy as a heat source and to configure a solid component used as an oxygen carrier or catalyst in the reaction container.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the solid assembly includes a plurality of solid members, each of which forms at least one protrusion. The plurality of solid members 3 are configured to be radially arranged on the inner surface of the body 2, centered around a diverging point 1 where incident light 5 diverges to form diverging light 4.

[0052] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG1 and FIG2 , the light-facing surface 31 of the solid component 3 forms an inclined surface inclined from the upper portion to the lower portion, and the angle formed by the inclined surface and the projection direction of the divergent light includes an acute angle.

[0053] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the spacing between the upper portions of two adjacent solid components 3 is configured to be greater than or equal to the spacing between the lower portions, so that a light-transmitting area is formed between the two adjacent solid components 3, which gradually shrinks from the divergence point 1 to the other side.

[0054] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG1 , the solid member 3 is configured to gradually increase in size from a side close to the diverging element (the side located in the middle of the main body 2 as shown in FIG1 ) to a side away from the diverging element (the side located on the inner surface of the main body 2 as shown in FIG1 ). Specifically, the solid member 3 includes, but is not limited to, a conical, truncated cone, or other three-dimensional structure having a smaller upper portion and a larger lower portion.

[0055] For example, in an embodiment where the solid component 3 is configured as a conical structure, the angle (ie, α) formed by the light-facing surface and the projection direction of the divergent light is an acute angle.

[0056] For another example, in an embodiment in which the solid component 3 is constructed as a frustum-shaped structure, the top surface and side surfaces of the frustum both form light-facing surfaces, the angle (i.e., α) formed by the top surface and the projection direction of the divergent light is a right angle, and the angle (i.e., α) formed by the side surface and the projection direction of the divergent light is an acute angle.

[0057] In this embodiment, since the solid component is configured as a tapered structure with a smaller top and a larger bottom as shown in FIG1 , as the width of the lower portion of the solid component increases, the area of ​​the light-facing surface can be greatly increased, so that the divergent light 4 can be projected more evenly and widely onto the light-facing surface, thereby increasing the effective material participating in the thermochemical reaction.

[0058] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the porosity of a porous material used in a solid component of the solar reactor shown in FIG. 1 .

[0059] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG3 , the solid component is configured as a porous structure.

[0060] In an exemplary embodiment, the solid component includes but is not limited to being made of a material with a porous structure. Further, the pore size of the porous structure includes but is not limited to being configured to be at least one of centimeter level, millimeter level or micrometer level.

[0061] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG3 , the pore size of the porous structure formed by the solid component is configured to gradually decrease from the outer layer to the inner side of the solid component.

[0062] In an illustrative embodiment, as shown in FIG3 , the pore size of the pore structure formed by the solid component gradually decreases from the upper portion to the lower portion.

[0063] In such an embodiment, the aperture of the upper portion of the solid component (i.e., the side of the solid component close to the light-facing surface) is configured to be larger than the aperture of the lower portion (i.e., the side of the solid component away from the light-facing surface). This allows the light transmittance of the upper portion of the solid component to be greater than that of the lower portion, allowing more sunlight to enter the interior of the solid component through the aperture structure, further forming a body absorption of thermal energy, which is conducive to uniform distribution of energy flux density. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0064] In another exemplary embodiment, at least a portion of the solid component may be configured as a non-porous solid structure; or the entire solid component may be configured as a solid structure.

[0065] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which is not shown in the figures, the pore sizes of the porous structure formed by the solid components are configured to be substantially the same.

[0066] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG1 , a solar reactor includes a reactant input mechanism 7 and a product output mechanism 8. The reactant input mechanism 7 is configured to input reactants into the reaction chamber. The product output mechanism 8 is configured to output products generated by the reactants from the reaction chamber, wherein the reactants and products include gases or liquids.

[0067] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG1 , a reactant input mechanism 7 is configured to communicate with a side portion of the main body 2 to serve as an input end of the reaction chamber.

[0068] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG1 , the product output mechanism 8 is configured to communicate with the bottom of the main body 2 to serve as an output end of the reaction chamber.

[0069] In an illustrative embodiment, as shown in FIG1 , a reactant input mechanism 7 is disposed on one radial side of the main body 2 (the upper side as shown in FIG1 ), and is configured to introduce reactants along the radial direction of the main body 2. Furthermore, a product output mechanism 8 is disposed at the bottom of the main body 2 (the left side as shown in FIG1 ), and is configured to discharge the products generated in the reaction chamber. Furthermore, the input end of the reaction chamber includes, but is not limited to, being disposed near the light-transmitting port 211, and the gas outlet end of the reaction chamber includes, but is not limited to, being disposed in the middle of the bottom surface of the reaction chamber, extending along the axial direction of the reaction chamber 211.

[0070] In an illustrative embodiment, the solid component is made of a material used as an oxygen carrier or catalyst according to the reaction configuration performed in the reactor, wherein the material configuring the solid component includes but is not limited to metal oxides, perovskite materials and other materials with catalytic effects in thermochemical reactions.

[0071] In one exemplary embodiment, the solar reactor described above is used in a thermochemical oxidation / reduction reaction, with the solid component serving as an oxygen carrier. Specifically, the oxygen carrier includes, but is not limited to, cerium oxide (configured for use in thermochemical reactions at temperatures between approximately 1500°C and 1700°C). It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0072] For example, the solid member 3 may also be made of at least one oxide of Ni, Fe, Co, Cu, Rh, Ru, Ir, Pt, Pd, or other oxides configured to serve as oxygen carriers / oxides for chemical reactions.

[0073] For another example, the solid component 3 may also be made of perovskite material (configured for use in a thermochemical reaction at a reaction temperature of approximately 1100° C.). The specific material used for the solid component 3 should be suitable for meeting the reaction temperature required for the thermochemical reaction.

[0074] In an exemplary embodiment, the reactant introduced by the reactant input mechanism 7 is water vapor. Furthermore, the products generated by the thermochemical reaction of the water vapor in the reaction chamber include, but are not limited to, hydrogen.

[0075] In another exemplary embodiment, the reactant introduced by the reactant input mechanism 7 is carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the products generated by the thermochemical reaction of carbon dioxide in the reaction chamber include but are not limited to carbon monoxide.

[0076] In an exemplary embodiment, the reactant input mechanism 7 includes a first gas source storing a reactant (gas) and a second gas source storing an inert gas. Furthermore, the reactant input mechanism 7 includes a connecting mechanism (e.g., a pipeline, a valve, a flow controller, etc.) disposed between the first gas source and the reaction chamber, and between the second gas source and the reaction chamber.

[0077] In this embodiment, the solar thermal effect causes the reaction chamber to reach the reaction temperature, causing the solid component serving as the oxygen carrier to lose oxygen ions, forming oxygen. At this point, the second gas source is configured to introduce an inert gas into the reaction chamber to expel the oxygen generated by the oxygen carrier's loss of oxygen. After the oxygen is expelled, the first gas source is configured to introduce the reactants into the reaction chamber, causing them to lose oxygen within the reaction chamber and form gaseous products.

[0078] In another exemplary embodiment, the solar reactor is used in a catalytic thermochemical reaction, and the solid component is used as a catalyst and as an active site for the product.

[0079] For example, the solar reactor can be applied to methane catalytic reforming reaction, methanol cracking reaction or other thermochemical catalytic reactions.

[0080] In an exemplary embodiment, the product output mechanism 8 includes a vacuum pump configured to create a negative pressure in the reaction chamber, thereby further reducing the oxygen partial pressure in the reaction chamber and increasing the non-stoichiometric oxygen loss of the oxygen carrier.

[0081] In an illustrative embodiment, the product output mechanism 8 further includes a mass spectrometer configured to measure the product. This allows mass spectrometry of the product output by the product output mechanism 8 to analyze the composition and / or components of the product. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0082] In an illustrative embodiment, the reactant input mechanism 7 is configured to have multiple sub-mechanisms, which are configured to pass different reactants. For example, when applied to the water gas shift (WGS) reaction, the reactant input mechanism 7 can be configured to respectively pass water and carbon monoxide (CO) into the reaction chamber. Furthermore, the product output mechanism 8 is configured to discharge the mixed gas of hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) formed by the water gas shift (WGS) reaction together, and separate them in a subsequent process (such as using sodium hydroxide to absorb carbon dioxide in the mixed gas) to collect hydrogen (H2). Wherein, based on the above-mentioned water gas shift (WGS) reaction, the solid component is adaptively made of a catalyst, such as (Pt-Ptn) / α-MoC or any other solid catalyst configured to catalyze the water gas shift (WGS) reaction.

[0083] In an illustrative embodiment, the solar reactor further includes a light source 9 configured to output sunlight or simulated sunlight into the reaction chamber, and a collection and control mechanism 6 configured to collect temperature and / or pressure information within the reaction chamber. Specifically, the collection and control mechanism 6 is configured to communicate with the reactant input mechanism 7 and the product output mechanism 8, and is configured to collect the temperature and / or pressure conditions within the reaction chamber, control the reactant input mechanism 7 to introduce reactants or inert gas into the reaction chamber, and control the product output mechanism 8 to extract products formed after the reaction.

[0084] The light source 9 used to form simulated sunlight includes but is not limited to a solar simulator.

[0085] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the diverging point 1 includes a focus where the incident light 5 converges, and the incident light 5 freely diverges through the diverging point 1 to form the diverging light 4 .

[0086] In an exemplary embodiment, the incident light 5 comprises multiple incident light rays reflected and / or refracted by optical elements from sunlight outside the solar reactor. Specifically, the multiple incident light rays converge at a single point (i.e., divergence point 1), causing the incident light 5 to naturally diverge from this divergence point 1 to form divergent light 4.

[0087] FIG. 4 is a light path diagram of a diverging component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 .

[0088] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG4 , the solar reactor further includes a diverging component disposed on the optical path of the incident light 5 within the light-transmitting port 211 and configured to radially diverge the incident light 5 toward the interior of the reaction chamber to form diverging light 4 .

[0089] In an illustrative embodiment, as shown in FIG4 , the diverging component includes, but is not limited to, an optical element formed by a concave lens or a combination of a concave lens and a convex lens. In detail, the diverging component includes a wide-angle negative lens (including an aspheric concave lens) and a spherical lens (including an array formed by a plurality of small convex lenses) arranged in sequence according to the optical path. Furthermore, the spherical lens is constructed into a concave bowl-shaped structure, and the inner surface of the spherical lens (i.e., the upper surface as shown in FIG4 ) is radially arranged with a plurality of upwardly protruding convex lens structures around the midpoint of the inner surface. The plurality of convex lens structures located at the same radial position form a convex lens array, and the plurality of convex lens arrays are arranged around the midpoint. The outer surface of the spherical lens (i.e., the lower surface as shown in FIG4 ) is constructed into a smooth curved surface structure.

[0090] In such an embodiment, the wide-angle negative lens is configured to diverge the beam-shaped incident light 5 , and the spherical lens is configured to further diffuse the light output by the wide-angle negative lens in a direction orthogonal to the outer surface of the spherical lens to form divergent light 4 .

[0091] It should be noted that any optical element or combination of optical elements known in the art that can cause a beam of incident light to diverge radially outward from the center of a spherical surface may be used. Furthermore, the diverging assembly may include a convex lens for focusing light, positioned upstream of the wide-angle negative lens in the optical path, a filter (such as an infrared filter) for filtering light, or other optical elements and combinations thereof.

[0092] In such an embodiment, the diverging component causes the incident light (including concentrated sunlight or simulated sunlight) to be radially diverged into the reaction chamber to increase the radiation range of the sunlight, and the light-facing surface provided in conjunction with the solid component can cause the diverging light to be irradiated obliquely onto the light-facing surface. Based on the above-mentioned diverging component and solid component, the light-facing surface can be extended in the depth direction of the reaction chamber. On the one hand, the diverging light can be irradiated onto the light-facing surface at a deeper position of the shell to increase the effective material participating in the thermochemical reaction. On the other hand, it can also avoid the formation of excessively high energy flux density in a certain part of the light-facing surface, thereby improving the energy conversion efficiency of the solar reactor.

[0093] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the solid member 3 is configured into a pyramidal structure.

[0094] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , a plurality of solid members 3 are arranged in rows and / or columns on the inner surface of the body 2 .

[0095] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG1 , the solid member 3 is configured as a regular pyramidal structure (i.e., the direction in which the generatrix of the solid member extends is substantially parallel to the direction in which the divergent light is projected). This allows the upper surface of the solid member to be completely exposed to the irradiation range of the divergent light, so that the upper surface of the solid member serves as a light-facing surface.

[0096] In another exemplary embodiment, not shown in the figure, the solid member 3 is configured as an oblique pyramidal structure (i.e., the extension direction of the generatrix of the solid member forms an angle with the projection direction of the divergent light). The portion of the upper surface of each solid member exposed to the illumination range of the divergent light serves as the light-facing surface.

[0097] For example, a solid component 3 as shown in FIG1 is divided into two symmetrical parts along the center line, and each part is used as an independent solid component.

[0098] For another example, the generatrix of a solid component 3 as shown in FIG1 is offset to one side (eg, left or right) so that in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG1 , the slopes of the vertex of the solid component extending to the lower sides are different.

[0099] In such an embodiment, by setting the solid component 3 as a right cone, the solid component can have a larger light-facing surface under the condition that the surface area occupied by the inner surface of the main body is the same, effectively reducing the local energy flow on the light-facing surface, avoiding the occurrence of local hot spots, making the energy distribution more uniform, and avoiding the occurrence of problems such as material melting, sublimation, and cracking.

[0100] FIG5 is a diagram illustrating a solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a solid component in the shape of a cone. FIG6 is another diagram illustrating a solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a solid component in the shape of a pyramid. FIG7 is another diagram illustrating a solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a solid component in the shape of a star-shaped cone. FIG8 is another diagram illustrating a solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing a solid component in the shape of a curved cone. FIG9 is another diagram illustrating a solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1 , showing another solid component in the shape of a curved cone.

[0101] In an illustrative embodiment, as shown in Figures 5 to 9, the solid member 3 is constructed as a right pyramidal structure with the generatrix of the pyramidal structure as the centerline. Specifically, the lower portions of the plurality of solid members 3 are mounted on the inner surface of the housing in rows and / or columns, and the upper portions of the plurality of solid members 3 extend toward the divergent light 4. Furthermore, the solid member array formed by each row (left and right directions as shown in Figure 1) of solid members 3 and / or each column (facing and away from the paper as shown in Figure 1) of solid members 3 can be configured in a corresponding arrangement or a staggered arrangement, so as to accommodate the arrangement of more solid members within the limited surface area of ​​the housing 2.

[0102] FIG. 10 is another solid component of the solar reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , showing a solid component in the shape of an annular cone.

[0103] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of solid members 3 are arranged in a ring form on the inner surface of the body 2 .

[0104] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figure 10, in vertical projection, the solid component 3 is configured as an annular cone with a substantially circular ring structure at the bottom. Further, a plurality of solid components are arranged around the center line of the housing.

[0105] FIG. 11 is another solid component of the solar thermochemical reactor of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , showing a strip-cone-shaped solid component.

[0106] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in Figure 11, solid member 3 is configured as a tapered strip that gradually expands from top to bottom. Specifically, in vertical orthographic projection, multiple solid members 3 are arranged around the centerline of the housing and are configured to extend radially outward in the radial direction of the reaction chamber to form an annular array of solid members 3. The array of multiple solid members 3 is arranged around the centerline of the housing.

[0107] In such an embodiment, the solid components are constructed into different conical structures and can be arranged according to the shape and size of the inner surface of the shell so that the solid components have as large a light-facing surface as possible, so that they can be heated under the thermal effect of the divergent light, thereby ensuring that there is a higher amount of effective material in the solar reactor that can participate in the thermochemical reaction.

[0108] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is not shown in the drawings, the main body 2 includes a shell and a heat insulating layer disposed in the shell, and a reaction chamber is defined in the heat insulating layer.

[0109] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG2 , the reaction chamber has a first mounting surface forming a hemispherical concave surface, and the solid component is arranged on the first mounting surface.

[0110] In this embodiment, the first mounting surface, configured as a hemispherical concave surface, forms a hemispherical reaction chamber within the solar reactor. The inner surface of the reaction chamber is substantially orthogonal to the projection direction of the divergent light. Therefore, the solid components arranged on the first mounting surface can be configured to have the same shape and / or size, facilitating the processing of the solid components and their assembly with the reaction chamber. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0111] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which is not shown in the figures, the reaction chamber has a second mounting surface extending along a plane, and the solid component is arranged on the second mounting surface.

[0112] For example, the reaction chamber may be configured in a cylindrical, truncated cone, or other structure having a second mounting surface extending along a plane.

[0113] In such an embodiment, the configured solid components can transform the original one-dimensional surface structure (i.e., there is only one direction for the energy propagation of sunlight, which depends only on the penetration depth of sunlight) (i.e., it protrudes upward along the original extended plane) into a three-dimensional body structure through the configured solid components to form a body absorption of thermal energy, which is beneficial to alleviate the attenuation of the intensity of sunlight from the surface to the depth inside the solid component, and increase the effective materials participating in the thermochemical reaction.

[0114] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG2 , the main body 2 includes a base 22 having an opening and a cover 21 disposed at the opening of the base 22 . A light-transmitting opening 211 is provided in the middle of the cover 21 .

[0115] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG2 , the cover 21 is configured as an annular structure. Further, the cover 21 is installed at an upper opening of the base 22 .

[0116] In this embodiment, the cover 21 and the base 22 can be processed separately, which helps to reduce the difficulty of manufacturing the main body 2. In addition, the cover 21 also has a certain thermal insulation function, which helps to improve the heat collection effect of the solar reactor. In addition, the cover 21 can also block at least a portion of other external light from affecting the solar reactor. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

[0117] For example, in a scenario where the reaction temperature required for a thermochemical reaction is relatively low, the base 22 without the cover 21 can serve as the main body 2 of the solar reactor. Specifically, the opening formed by the base 22 is configured as a light-transmitting port for introducing incident light 5.

[0118] It should also be noted that directional terms such as "upper," "lower," "front," "back," "left," and "right" mentioned in the embodiments are merely references to the directions in the accompanying drawings and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Throughout the drawings, identical elements are represented by identical or similar reference numerals. Conventional structures or configurations will be omitted where they may cause confusion in understanding this disclosure.

[0119] The embodiments of the present disclosure are described above. However, these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Although each embodiment has been described separately above, this does not mean that the measures in each embodiment cannot be used in combination to advantage. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art may make various substitutions and modifications, which should all fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A solar reactor comprising: A main body (2), wherein a reaction chamber is defined in the main body (2), and the main body (2) is provided with a light-transmitting port (211) configured to receive incident light (5) formed by light rays collected from outside the reaction chamber and enter the reaction chamber, wherein the incident light (5) is diffused in the reaction chamber to form diffused light (4) diffused in the reaction chamber; as well as A solid component is arranged in the reaction chamber, the solid component is provided with a protrusion protruding toward the middle of the reaction chamber, at least a portion of a light-facing surface (31) of the protrusion facing the divergent light (4) is configured to form an angle other than 90° with the projection direction of the divergent light, so that the divergent light (4) extends along the thickness direction of the solid component; The solid component is made of a material used as an oxygen carrier or catalyst in a chemical reaction using solar energy as a heat source.

2. The reactor according to claim 1, wherein The solid component comprises a plurality of solid members, each of the solid members (3) forming at least one protrusion; The plurality of solid components (3) are configured to be radially arranged on the inner surface of the main body (2) with the divergence point (1) where the incident light (5) is diverged to form the divergent light (4) as the center.

3. The reactor according to claim 2, wherein The light-facing surface (31) of the solid component (3) forms an inclined surface that slopes from the upper portion to the lower portion, and the angle formed by the inclined surface and the projection direction of the divergent light includes an acute angle.

4. The reactor according to claim 3, wherein The distance between the upper parts of two adjacent solid components (3) is configured to be greater than or equal to the distance between the lower parts, so that a light-transmitting area is formed between the two adjacent solid components (3), which gradually contracts from the divergence point (1) to the other side.

5. The reactor according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein The divergence point (1) comprises a focus where the incident light (5) converges, and the incident light (5) freely diverges through the divergence point (1) to form the divergent light (4).

6. The reactor according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: It also comprises a diverging component, which is arranged on the optical path of the incident light (5) in the light-transmitting port (211) and is configured to diverge the incident light (5) radially toward the interior of the reaction chamber to form the divergent light (4).

7. The reactor according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: The solid component (3) is constructed into a pyramidal structure.

8. The reactor according to claim 7, wherein A plurality of the solid components (3) are arranged in rows and / or columns on the inner surface of the body (2).

9. The reactor according to claim 7, wherein A plurality of the solid members (3) are arranged in a ring form on the inner surface of the body (2).

10. The reactor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The solid component is configured as a porous structure.

11. The reactor according to claim 10, wherein The pore sizes of the porous structure formed by the solid components are configured to be substantially the same.

12. The reactor according to claim 10, wherein The pore size of the porous structure formed by the solid component is configured to gradually decrease from the outer layer to the inner side of the solid component.

13. The reactor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: Also includes: A reactant input mechanism (7) configured to input reactants into the reaction chamber; as well as A product output mechanism (8) is configured to output a product generated from the reactants from the reaction chamber; Wherein, the reactants and products include gas or liquid.

14. The reactor according to claim 13, wherein The reactant input mechanism (7) is configured to communicate with the side of the main body (2) so as to serve as an input end of the reaction chamber.

15. The reactor according to claim 13, wherein The product output mechanism (8) is configured to communicate with the bottom of the main body (2) so as to serve as an output end of the reaction chamber.

16. The reactor according to claim 1, wherein The main body (2) comprises a shell and a heat insulating layer arranged in the shell, and a reaction chamber is defined in the heat insulating layer.

17. The reactor according to claim 16, wherein The reaction chamber has a first mounting surface forming a hemispherical concave surface, and the solid component is arranged on the first mounting surface.

18. The reactor according to claim 16, wherein The reaction chamber has a second mounting surface extending along a plane, and the solid component is arranged on the second mounting surface.

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