Solar-Driven Thermochemical Water-Splitting by Cerium Oxide: Determination of Operational Conditions in a Directly Irradiated Fixed Bed Reactor

Lucía Arribas, José González-Aguilar and Manuel Romero
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Lucía Arribas: Unit of High Temperature Processes, IMDEA Energy Institute, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, 28935 Móstoles, Spain
José González-Aguilar: Unit of High Temperature Processes, IMDEA Energy Institute, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, 28935 Móstoles, Spain
Manuel Romero: Unit of High Temperature Processes, IMDEA Energy Institute, Avda. Ramón de la Sagra 3, 28935 Móstoles, Spain

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Concentrated solar energy can be transformed into electricity, heat or even solar fuels, such as hydrogen, via thermochemical routes with high exergetic efficiency. In this work, a specific methodology and experimental setup are described, developed to assess the production of hydrogen by water splitting making use of commercial cerium oxide, ceria (CeO 2 ), in a solarized reactor. A fixed bed reactor, directly irradiated by a 7 kWe high flux solar simulator (HFSS) was used. Released H 2 and sample temperature levels were continuously monitored. Three tests were carried out consisting of three consecutive redox cycles each, with irradiances in the range of 1017–2034 kWm −2 . It was necessary to achieve a compromise between sample temperatures (higher temperatures lead to higher reduction rates) and sample stability, since absorbed radiation can degrade a sample at lower temperature (1280–1480 °C) than in a conventional infrared oven ( T > 2000 °C). Irradiating the surface of the sample with an irradiance of 2034 kWm −2 (270 W of total radiation power) during 9.5 min eventually degraded the sample, resulting in a conversion into stoichiometrically reduced oxide (Ce 2 O 3 ) of 11%. A similar conversion was achieved (9.7%) after 2 min of irradiation at 270 W (100% of radiation), but without irreversibly damaging the sample.

Keywords: hydrogen; solar fuels; water splitting; directly irradiated reactor; fixed bed; cerium oxide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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