Ca(OH)2/CaO reversible reaction in a fluidized bed reactor for thermochemical heat storage

•The fluidization of 30wt% Ca(OH)2 powder diluted with 70wt% inert material has been performed.•The dehydration and the hydration of respectively Ca(OH)2 and CaO have been carried out in a fluidized bed reactor.•50 Cycles have been performed in fluidized bed.•A 60kWhm−3 Ca(OH)2-bulk energy density has been measured and could increase up to 156kWhm−3 with a solid/solid separation unit.•Fluidized bed is a feasible reactor for a thermal energy storage application. Thermal energy storage (TES) is a key factor for increasing the efficiency of concentrated solar power plants. TES using a reversible chemical reaction appears to be a promising technology for high energy density thermal storage (100–500kWhm−3), at high temperature (up to 1000°C) and during a long period (24h to several months). This paper details an experimental study to carry out the reversible reaction Ca(OH)2(s) + ΔHr⇔CaO(s) + H2O(g) in a fluidized bed (FB) reactor. The 4μm Ca(OH)2 powder fluidization has been performed with an appropriate proportion of inert easy-to-fluidize particles. Then, Ca(OH)2 dehydration and CaO hydration have been implemented in a FB reactor and 50 cycles have been reached. The mean energy density obtained is 60kWhm−3 solid_mixture which amounts to a promising energy density of 156kWhm−3 Ca(OH)2-bulk if the reactants and the easy-to-fluidize particles are separated. The results demonstrated the feasibility of the implementation of the Ca(OH)2/CaO thermochemical heat storage in a fluidized bed reactor.