The carboreduction in to produce Sn and its hydrolysis with steam to generate hydrogen were studied. The system has several advantages compared with the most advanced cycle considered so far, which is the ZnO/C/Zn system. The most significant one is the lower reduction temperatures ( for the versus for the ZnO). The rate of carbothermal reduction was studied experimentally. powder (300 mesh, 99.9% purity) was reduced with beech charcoal and graphite using a thermogravimetric analysis apparatus and fixed bed flow reactor at a temperature range of . Optimal temperature range for the reduction with beech charcoal is . The reaction time needed to reach conversion of close to 100% is 5–10 min in this temperature range. The transmission electron microscopy results show that after cooling, the product of carboreduction contains mainly metallic Sn with a particle size of . The hydrolysis step is crucial to the success of the entire cycle. Reactions between the steam and solid tin having as powder structure similar to the reduced one were performed at a temperature range of . Results of both the reduction and hydrolysis reactions are presented in addition to thermodynamic analysis of this cycle.
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August 2010
Research Papers
The Carbothermic Cycle for Splitting Water and Production of Hydrogen
Michael Epstein,
Michael Epstein
Solar Research Facilities Unit,
e-mail: michael.epstein@weizmann.ac.il
Weizmann Institute of Science
, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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Irina Vishnevetsky,
Irina Vishnevetsky
Solar Research Facilities Unit,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Search for other works by this author on:
Alexander Berman
Alexander Berman
Solar Research Facilities Unit,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Search for other works by this author on:
Michael Epstein
Solar Research Facilities Unit,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel
e-mail: michael.epstein@weizmann.ac.il
Irina Vishnevetsky
Solar Research Facilities Unit,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Alexander Berman
Solar Research Facilities Unit,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Aug 2010, 132(3): 031007 (7 pages)
Published Online: June 14, 2010
Article history
Received:
October 2, 2008
Revised:
May 14, 2009
Online:
June 14, 2010
Published:
June 14, 2010
Citation
Epstein, M., Vishnevetsky, I., and Berman, A. (June 14, 2010). "The Carbothermic Cycle for Splitting Water and Production of Hydrogen." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. August 2010; 132(3): 031007. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4001403
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