Title: Potential of hybridisation of the thermochemical hybrid-sulphur cycle for the production of hydrogen by using nuclear and solar energy in the same plant

Authors: Nathalie Monnerie, Mark Schmitz, Martin Roeb, Dominik Quantius, Daniela Graf, Christian Sattler, Daniel De Lorenzo

Addresses: German Aerospace Centre – DLR, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics – Solar Research, 51147 Cologne, Germany. ' German Aerospace Centre – DLR, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics – Solar Research, 51147 Cologne, Germany. ' German Aerospace Centre – DLR, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics – Solar Research, 51147 Cologne, Germany. ' German Aerospace Centre – DLR, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics – Solar Research, 51147 Cologne, Germany. ' German Aerospace Centre – DLR, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics – Solar Research, 51147 Cologne, Germany. ' German Aerospace Centre – DLR, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics – Solar Research, 51147 Cologne, Germany. ' Empresarios Agrupados Internacional, S.A., EA – Madrid, Spain

Abstract: The search for a sustainable, CO₂-free massive hydrogen production route is a strong need, if one takes into account the world-wide increasing energy demand, the deterioration of fossil fuel reserves and in particular the increasing CO₂ concentration leading to global warming. Thermo-chemical cycles for water splitting are considered as a promising alternative of emission-free routes of massive hydrogen production – with potentially higher efficiencies and lower costs compared to alkaline electrolysis of water. The hybrid-sulphur cycle was chosen as one of the most promising cycles from the |sulphur family| of processes. Different process schemes using concentrated sunlight or nuclear generated heat or a combination of both have been elaborated and analysed by a comparative techno-economic study with regard to their potential of a large-scale hydrogen production. Options for a hybridisation of the energy supply between solar and nuclear have been also investigated, particular focused on the coupling of concentrated solar radiation into a round-the-clock operated process. Process design and simulation, industrial scale-up assessments including safety analysis and cost evaluations were performed to analyse reliability and potential of those process concepts.

Keywords: thermochemical cycle; hybrid sulphur cycle; solar energy; economics; sulphur-iodine cycle; sulphuric acid; process modelling; nuclear energy; solar power; nuclear power; water splitting; hydrogen production; process design; simulation; safety analysis; cost evaluation; reliability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNHPA.2011.038343

International Journal of Nuclear Hydrogen Production and Applications, 2011 Vol.2 No.3, pp.178 - 201

Published online: 28 Nov 2014 *