Particle-Scale Investigation of Heat Transfer in Radiation-Driven Char Gasification

A model of the steam gasification of a single char particle driven by high-intensity radiation was developed and experimentally verified with available measurements in the literature. This was used to explore the sensitivity of the particle surface temperature and heat-transfer mechanisms to variations in particle diameters, radiative heat flux, and the concentration of the gasification agent H₂O under typical conditions for solar gasification reactors. The results highlight the importance of the particle diameter in influencing solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency and assist in the selection of appropriate feedstock particles to match the conditions in specific solar gasification reactors.