| 摘要 |
An apparatus and method for solar energy powered gas processing. There is disclosed a processor assembly for use in heating a process or feed gas by means of a convective heat exchanger which receives solar energy from a focused solar energy collector. A specialized heat exchanger is described, which includes a conical envelope into which a metal tube is spirally wound, such that the tube is coiled into a conical spiral corresponding generally to the envelope. A reflective beam spreader is situated near the vertex of the envelope cone to re-direct incident solar radiation toward the exchanger tube. The apparatus thus has a cavity into which solar energy is focused to be incident upon the exchanger tube to superheat a gas or gas mixture flowing through the tube. The heated gas can be used in various gas reaction processes, such as steam methane reformation, a reverse water-gas shift reaction, or to drive a heat engine. Various auxiliary features are disclosed for increasing the efficiency of the solar heat transfer into the flowing process gas.
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