Solar Fuels – Thermochemical Processes & Reactor Technology

Solar thermochemical processes for the production of hydrogen, syngas, metals, and other synthetic fuels and materials 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 2000 K, and reforming/gasification/decomposition processes for the thermal decarbonization of fossil fuels at 1500 K. R&D work encompasses fundamental studies on thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, heat/mass transfer, and chemical reactor engineering. Solar reactor prototypes are designed, fabricated, modeled, and tested in a high-flux solar furnace, further optimized for maximum solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency, and finally scaled-up for (MW) industrial applications using concentrating solar tower technology.

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