 Thermodynamic analysis of the co-production of zinc and synthesis gas using solar process heatA. Steinfeld, C. Larson, R. Palumbo and M. Foley Energy, 1996, vol. 21, issue 3, 205-222 Abstract: We present a solar thermochemical process that combines the reduction of zinc oxide with the reforming of natural gas (NG) for the co-production of zinc and syngas. The overall reaction may be represented by ZnO+CH4 = Zn+2H2+CO. The maximum possible overall efficiency is assessed for an ideal, closed cyclic system that recycles all materials and also for a more technically-feasible open system that allows for material flow into and out of the system. Assuming that the equilibrium chemical composition is obtained in a blackbody solar reactor operated at 1250 K, 1 atm, and with a solar power-flux concentration of 2000, closed-cycle efficiencies vary between 40 and 65%, depending on recovery of the product sensible heat. Under the same baseline conditions, open-cycle efficiencies vary between 36 and 50%, depending on whether a Zn/O2 or an H2/O2 fuel cell is employed. Compared to the HHV of methane for generating electricity, the proposed solar open-cycle process releases half as much CO2 to the atmosphere. The process modelling described in this paper establishes a base for evaluating and comparing different solar thermochemical processes. Date: 1996 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:21:y:1996:i:3:p:205-222 DOI: 10.1016/0360-5442(95)00125-5 Access Statistics for this article Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser More articles in Energy from Elsevier |
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