THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF CHEMICAL ENERGY TRANSPORT.

This paper deals with several aspects of thermodynamic analyses of chemical energy transport systems using reversible endothermic/exothermic chemical reactions. The first application of thermodynamic availability (or exergy) analysis deals with the relative merits of properly selected chemical reactions as secondary energy carriers for process steam applications. Results show that a conversion of primary thermal energy to secondary energy forms of a high thermodynamic quality is always associated with efficiency penalty. The second application of availability analysis is used to evaluate the nature and magnitude of thermodynamic irreversibilities in a methane reformer plant coupled to a high-temperature nuclear reactor. 7 refs.