A critical review on integrated system design of solar thermochemical water-splitting cycle for hydrogen production. (15th September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Xiaofei; Sun, Xue; Song, Qiang; Yang, Zhen; Wang, Haiming; Duan, Yuanyuan
• Is Part Of: International journal of hydrogen energy. Volume 47:Number 79(2022)
• Page Start: 33619
• Page End: 33642
• Publication Date: 2022-09-15
• Subjects: Hydrogen production -- Thermochemical water-splitting cycle -- Concentrated solar power -- Thermal storage -- Integrated system design; Hydrogen as fuel -- Periodicals; Hydrogène (Combustible) -- Périodiques; Hydrogen as fuel; Periodicals; 665.81
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.07.249
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-3199

Abstract

Abstract: The development of clean hydrogen production methods is important for large-scale hydrogen production applications. The solar thermochemical water-splitting cycle is a promising method that uses the heat provided by solar collectors for clean, efficient, and large-scale hydrogen production. This review summarizes state-of-the-art concentrated solar thermal, thermal storage, and thermochemical water-splitting cycle technologies that can be used for system integration from the perspective of integrated design. Possible schemes for combining these three technologies are also presented. The key issues of the solar copper-chlorine (Cu–Cl) and sulfur-iodine (S–I) cycles, which are the most-studied cycles, have been summarized from system composition, operation strategy, thermal and economic performance, and multi-scenario applications. Moreover, existing design ideas, schemes, and performances of solar thermochemical water-splitting cycles are summarized. The energy efficiency of the solar thermochemical water-splitting cycle is 15–30%. The costs of the solar Cu–Cl and S–I hydrogen production systems are 1.63–9.47 $/kg H2 and 5.41–10.40 $/kg H2, respectively. This work also discusses the future challenges for system integration and offers an essential reference and guidance for building a clean, efficient, and large-scale hydrogen production system. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Research on thermochemical cycles, solar energy, and thermal storage are reviewed. Combinations of thermochemical cycle, solar energy, and thermal storage are given. Cu–Cl and S–I cycles are suitable for hydrogen production using solar energy. Composition, operation, performance, and application of the system is summarized. Future works on the integration design of solar thermochemical cycle is reviewed.