Transient Thermo-Fluid Analysis of Free Falling CuCl and AgCl Droplets with Liquid-to-Solid Phase Change

Hydrogen extraction from nature is a time-consuming and energy-intensive procedure. Most of the current methods of extracting H2 are not eco-friendly, and the thermochemical copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle is a promising alternative since the ingredients are continuously recycled within the cycle without discharging pollutants into the atmosphere. In this study, the heat recovered from molten cuprous chloride (CuCl) salt produced in one of the reactors and quenched in a water bath is analyzed numerically to determine the amount of thermal energy that can be recovered and improve the efficiency of the Cu-Cl cycle. The quenching cell is simulated in an inert atmosphere since CuCl is highly reactive in the presence of oxygen. The interactions of various diameters of CuCl droplets within nitrogen (N2) are numerically modeled in COMSOL Multiphysics. Silver chloride (AgCl) is also used in this study to validate the phase-change process. It was discovered in this study that during the free fall, the outer surface of the molten droplets solidifies, and the phase change of droplets slowly propagates radially inwards, which slows down the energy dissipation. It was also determined that the average internal temperature of the droplet does not change substantially with droplet diameter or quenching height. Based on this study, the net energy recovered after quenching was calculated to be around 23 kJ during 1 kg of H2 production.