Future Solar Fuels H 2, Syngas, and Jet Fuels

FFF Hybrid Conference on Solar Fuels and High Temperature Solar Applications Johannesburg, South Africa, August 20-21, 2014 Future Solar Fuels H 2, Syngas, and Jet Fuels Dr Anton Meier Solar Technology Laboratory, Paul ScherrerInstitute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland

Overview Introduction Solar thermochemical dissociation of ZnO Solar2Zinc 100 kw th solar pilot plant Solar thermochemical splitting of H 2 O and CO 2 using Ceria SOLAR-JET parabolic concentrator reactor receiver solar tower heliostat field 2

Overview Introduction Solar thermochemical dissociation of ZnO Solar2Zinc 100 kw th solar pilot plant Solar thermochemical splitting of H 2 O and CO 2 using Ceria SOLAR-JET parabolic concentrator reactor receiver solar tower heliostat field 3

H 2 O/CO 2 -splitting Concentrated Solar Energy Decarbonization H 2 O CO 2 Fossil Fuels (NG, oil, coal) Solar High-T Electrolysis Solar Thermochemical Cycle Solar Electricity + Electrolysis Solar Reforming Solar Cracking Solar Gasification Long-term goal Short/mid-term transition Solar Fuels (H 2, syngas, liquid fuels) Optional CO 2 /C Sequestration 4

H 2 O/CO 2 -splitting H 2 O CO 2 Concentrated Solar Energy Decarbonization Fossil Fuels (NG, oil, coal) Solar High-T Electrolysis Solar Thermochemical Cycle Solar Electricity + Electrolysis Solar Reforming Solar Cracking Solar Gasification Long-term goal Solar Fuels (H 2, syngas, liquid fuels) Optional CO 2 /C Sequestration 5

Solar Production of H 2, Syngas, and Liquid Fuels Metal oxide based thermo-chemical processes for H 2 and syngas production demonstrated at the 100 kw th power level Non-volatile metal oxides Volatile metal oxides H 2 production using Ferrite H 2 O-splitting cycle H 2 /CO (syngas) production using Zn/ZnO H 2 O/CO 2 -splitting cycle HYDROSOL (100 kw th ) at PSA, Spain Solar2Zinc (100 kw th ) at Odeillo, France 6

H 2 O/CO 2 -Splitting Thermochemical Cycles Concentrated Solar Energy MO ox 1 st step: Solar Reduction MO MO + O ox red 2 MO red O 2 H 2 O/CO 2 recycle red red 2 nd step: Oxidation MO + HO MO + H 2 ox 2 MO + CO MO + CO MO ox 2 ox H 2 /CO To Liquid Fuels 7

Overview Introduction Solar thermochemical dissociation of ZnO Solar2Zinc 100 kw th solar pilot plant Solar thermochemical splitting of H 2 O and CO 2 using Ceria SOLAR-JET parabolic concentrator reactor receiver solar tower heliostat field 8

H 2 O/CO 2 -Splitting Thermochemical Cycle based on ZnO/Zn Concentrated Solar Energy ZnO SOLAR REACTOR O 2 ZnO fi Zn + ½ O 2 H = 557 kj/mol, T H > 2000 K Zn NON-SOLAR REACTOR H 2 /CO H 2 O/CO 2 2Zn + H 2 O + CO 2 fi 2ZnO + H 2 + CO H = -67 kj/mol, T L = 700 K recycle ZnO To Liquid Fuels 9

Solar2Zinc From Lab Scale to Pilot Scale Lab-scale Reactor Prototype Pilot Plant Scale-up 10 kw 100 kw 50 kw 1000 kw High Flux Solar Simulator, PSI, CH Megawatt Solar Furnace, PROMES-CNRS, FR ASME J. Solar Energy Eng. 130 (2), 021009-1/6, 2008. ASME J. Solar Energy Eng., 136(1), 011017-1/11, 2014. 10

Solar2Zinc Solar Reactor Technology Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 insulation Al 2 O 3 bricks quench unit water-cooled copper cone quartz window concentrated solar radiation Ar nozzles hexagonal aluminum shell Partners:PSI & ETH Zurich Funding: SFOE, PSI, ETHZ 11

Solar2Zinc Solar Experimental Campaign parabolic concentrator reactor receiver shutter doors parabolic dish solar reactor tower solar tower Reactor and Process Modeling heliostat field heliostat field Ray-tracing code applied to simulate actual experimental configuration: Tracking heliostats, shutter opening, DNI, sun position, etc. Transient heat and mass transfer model validated with exp. data: ZnO dissociation extent Energy conversion efficiency Partners:PSI & ETH Zurich Funding: SFOE, PSI, ETHZ 12

Solar2Zinc Solar Experimental Campaign Experimental Setup and Operation 100 kw th solar reactor and periphery mounted on mobile carriage at MWSF Typical experimental run: Solar power input Q solar, cavity temperature T, Ar quench flow rate, and O 2 release from the ZnO dissociation reaction after quenching the products Partners:PSI & ETH Zurich Funding: SFOE, PSI, ETHZ 13

Achievements 2012 10 experiments with >60 hours of on-sun testing (3-9 hours per run) Thermal and mechanical stability of reactor cavity demonstrated Transient heat & mass transfer model validated with experimental data Challenges Reliable reactor operation Purge gas and carrier gas flows: Aerodynamic window protection Transport of gaseous products Efficient quench Solar2Zinc Solar Experimental Campaign (Next experimental campaign in September/October 2014) CNRS 1 MW Solar Furnace Odeillo, France Partners:PSI & ETH Zurich Funding: SFOE, PSI, ETHZ 14

Overview Introduction Solar thermochemical dissociation of ZnO Solar2Zinc 100 kw th solar pilot plant Solar thermochemical splitting of H 2 O and CO 2 using Ceria SOLAR-JET parabolic concentrator reactor receiver solar tower heliostat field 15

Solar Thermochemical Splitting of H 2 O and CO 2 based on Ceria Concentrated Solar Energy CeO 2 1 st step: Solar Reduction δ 2 2 δ + 2 2 CeO CeO O CeO2 δ O 2 H 2 O/CO 2 2 nd step: Oxidation CeO + HO CeO + H 2 δ δ 2 2 δ 2 CeO2 δ + δco2 CeO2 + δco H 2 /CO recycle CeO 2 To Liquid Fuels 16

Solar Reactor Technology δ 2 2 δ + 2 2 CeO CeO O Reduction step: Oxygen evolution Concentrated Solar Radiation Quartz Window Porous CeO 2 CPC Al 2 O 3 insulation 1500 C O 2 O 2 O 2 Inconel Wall Science 330, 1797-1801, 2010. O 2 17

Solar Reactor Technology CeO + HO CeO + H 2 δ δ 2 2 δ 2 CeO2 δ + δco2 CeO2 + δco Oxidation step: Fuel production Concentrated Solar Radiation Quartz Window Porous CeO 2 CPC Al 2 O 3 insulation 900 C Inconel Wall CO H 2 Science 330, 1797-1801, 2010. Syngas (H 2, CO) 18

Solar Experimental Results Splitting of CO 2 & H 2 O CeO 2 bricks porosity = 76 % SSA = 2.7 m 2 g -1 CO 2 -splitting H 2 O-splitting ηsolar-to-fuel, average = 04.% Science 330, 1797-1801, 2010. η solar-to-fuel, peak 0.8% for CO2-splitting = 07. % for HO-splitting 2 19

Solar Experimental Results Simultaneous CO 2 /H 2 O Splitting CeO 2 felt porosity = 96 % SSA = 6.0 m 2 g -1 H 2 O:CO 2 = 6.7 Energy & Env. Science 5, 6098-6103, 2012. 20

Solar Experimental Results Splitting of CO 2 CeO 2 RPC porosity = 88 % SSA = 1.45*10-4 m 2 /g 3.8 kw, 2 l/min Ar 0 kw, 2.5 l/min CO 2 Energy & Fuels 26, 7051-7059, 2012. ηsolar-to-fuel, average = 1.73% ηsolar-to-fuel, peak = 353. % 21

H 2 O/CO 2 -Splitting Thermochemical Cycles Solar Production of Jet Fuel EU-FP7 Project SOLAR-JET (2011-2015) Demonstrate at laboratory-scale a process that combines concentrated sunlight with CO 2 and H 2 O to produce jet fuel in a Fischer-Tropsch unit. Develop and optimize solar reactor technology for producing syngas a precursor of Fischer-Tropsch fuels (methanol, diesel, jet fuel). First jet fuel produced in FT unit from solar-produced syngas! http://www.pre.ethz.ch/research/projects/?id=solarjet Int. J. Heat & Fluid Flow 29, 315-326, 2008. Materials 5, 192-209, 2012. Partners:Bauhaus Luftfahrt (D), ETH (CH), DLR (D), SHELL (NL), ARTTIC (F) Funding: EC 22

Source of CO 2? For a truly sustainable process, CO 2 should be captured from atmospheric air 23

ambient air ADSORPTION CO 2 Capture from Air CO 2 -depleted air pure CO 2 DESORPTION Adsorption @ 25 C, 1 bar Desorption @ 90 C, 150 mbar Energy Environ. Sci. 4, 3584-3592, 2011. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45, 9101-08, 2011. 24

Closing the Materials Cycle Solar Energy Concentrated Solar Energy atmospheric air adsorption desorption CO 2 reduction oxidation syngas catalytic conversion H 2 O CO 2 -depleted air liquid fuels for transportation H 2 O CO 2 25

Contact SolarPACES Operating Agent Task II (Solar Chemistry Research) Dr. Anton Meier PAUL SCHERRER INSTITUT (PSI) Deputy Head, Solar Technology Laboratory WKPA/008 5232 Villigen PSI Switzerland Phone: +41 56 310 27 88 Fax: +41 56 310 31 60 E-mail: anton.meier@psi.ch Internet: http://www.psi.ch/lst/ Further Information http://www.prec.ethz.ch/ http://www.solarpaces.org/ 26