Developmental status of solar thermochemical hydrogen production

ABSTRACT:
This report discusses the status of development on solar thermochemical hydrogen production. It discusses the results of recent experiments of components for the solar interface. Various process designs that have been proposed are examined and areas of technical concern are discussed. The

Show More

process has the potential for having the highest efficiency for producing hydrogen from water. Development has consisted of process flowsheet designs for using nuclear heat sources, several solar interface conceptual designs, and experiments for solar central receiver components. Conceptually, the flowsheets show how the chemical process plant is to actually be built. Each stream is identified and temperature, pressure, and composition are specified. The function of each piece of process equipment -- reactors, heat exchangers is defined. Design requirements such as conversion, heat transfer, etc., and materials of construction are established. While many uncertainties still exist, we have identified no major technical problems that will prevent the production of solar thermochemical hydrogen if additional analysis and experimentation are completed. An economic assessment was performed by determining hydrogen product costs using realistic solar availability conditions. The conclusions list the major areas that need continuing work.

Show Less