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Redox Cycles, Active Materials, and Reactors Applied to Water and Carbon Dioxide Splitting for Solar Thermochemical Fuel Production: A Review

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  • Stéphane Abanades

    (Processes, Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory, PROMES-CNRS, 66120 Font-Romeu, France)

Abstract

The solar thermochemical two-step splitting of H 2 O and CO 2 based on metal oxide compounds is a promising path for clean and efficient generation of hydrogen and renewable synthetic fuels. The two-step process is based on the endothermic solar thermal reduction of a metal oxide releasing O 2 using a high-temperature concentrated solar heat source, followed by the exothermic oxidation of the reduced oxide with H 2 O and/or CO 2 to generate pure H 2 and/or CO. This pathway relates to one of the emerging and most promising processes for solar thermochemical fuel production encompassing green H 2 and the recycling/valorization of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. It represents an efficient route for solar energy conversion and storage into renewable and dispatchable fuels, by directly converting the whole solar spectrum using heat delivered by concentrating systems. This eliminates the need for photocatalysts or intermediate electricity production, thus bypassing the main limitations of the low-efficient photochemical and electrochemical routes currently seen as the main green methods for solar fuel production. In this context, among the relevant potential redox materials, thermochemical cycles based on volatile and non-volatile metal oxides are particularly attractive. Most redox pairs in two-step cycles proceed with a phase change (solid-to-gas or solid-to-liquid) during the reduction step, which can be avoided by using non-stoichiometric oxides (chiefly, spinel, fluorite, or perovskite-structured materials) through the creation of oxygen vacancies in the lattice. The oxygen sub-stoichiometry determines the oxygen exchange capacity, thus determining the fuel production output per mass of redox-active material. This paper provides an overview of the most advanced cycles involving ZnO/Zn, SnO 2 /SnO, Fe 3 O 4 /FeO, ferrites, ceria, and perovskites redox systems by focusing on their ability to perform H 2 O and CO 2 splitting during two-step thermochemical cycles with high fuel production yields, rapid reaction rates, and performance stability. Furthermore, the possible routes for redox-active material integration and processing in various solar reactor technologies are also described.

Suggested Citation

  • Stéphane Abanades, 2022. "Redox Cycles, Active Materials, and Reactors Applied to Water and Carbon Dioxide Splitting for Solar Thermochemical Fuel Production: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-28, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:19:p:7061-:d:925391
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    1. Rahul R. Bhosale, 2023. "Recent Developments in Ceria-Driven Solar Thermochemical Water and Carbon Dioxide Splitting Redox Cycle," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-30, August.

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