화학공학소재연구정보센터
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol.35, No.16, 8511-8520, 2010
Solar thermochemical plant analysis for hydrogen production with the copper-chlorine cycle
In this article, a solar-based method of generating hydrogen from the copper chlorine water-splitting cycle is developed and evaluated. An analysis is performed for solar plants with different hydrogen production capacities at three locations across Canada. Operating parameters of the solar field and the storage units are presented. The thermal efficiency and cost parameters of the hydrogen plant are also examined. A binary mixture of 60% NaNO(3) and 40% KNO(3) is used as the molten salt for solar energy storage. Different hydrogen production rates are analyzed. Since the solar irradiation in Calgary is much less than Toronto and Sarnia in the winter, it is found that a larger storage unit is required. The size of the storage unit increases for larger hydrogen production rates. The results support the feasibility of solar thermochemical Cu-Cl cycle as a promising and efficient pathway for large-scale production of hydrogen. (C) 2010 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.