Solar thermochemical processes for the production of hydrogen make use of concentrated solar radiation as the energy source of high-temperature process heat. Considered are water-splitting thermochemical cycles based on metal oxide redox reactions at above 2000 K, and reforming/ gasification/ decomposition processes for the thermal decarbonization of fossil fuels at above 1500 K. A Second-Law analysis indicates the inherent thermodynamic advantage for efficiently storing intermittent solar energy into chemical fuels via high-temperature endothermic processes, and the potential of avoiding greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.
The research work encompasses fundamental studies on chemical reactor engineering, with emphasis on the analysis of radiation heat transfer in gas-solid reacting flows. Solar reactor prototypes are designed, fabricated, modeled, and tested in a high-flux solar furnace, and further optimized for maximum energy conversion efficiency. The solar chemical reactor technology will be described, and recent experimental results with a 5-kW reactor for the steam-gasification of coal and a 300-kW reactor for the carbothermal production of zinc will be presented.


Vortragssprache: Englisch