(230e) Solar Configuration Study of Sulphuric Acid Thermal Decomposition in the S-I Thermochemical Hydrogen Production Process

The most widely studied thermochemical water-splitting cycle to date is the Sulfur-Iodine (S-I) cycle. At the ENEA research center in Rome (Italy) a research program is being developed in order to supply the heat to the cycle by solar energy. Since the sulfuric acid decomposition to produce SO2 is the reaction with the highest energy demand in this process, a solar plant for performing this operation is expected to be the most expensive and complex part of the whole cycle. A volumetric cavity solar receiver reactor is considered. In this work two possible solar configurations are compared: 1) A continuous solar plant with heat storage, with or without SO2 storage. 2) A discontinuous solar plant with SO2 storage. Furthermore, the effect of temperature on conversion yield as well as catalysts and materials cost assessment is discussed for both cases. Finally, the possibility to use the solar plant for the recovery of spent sulfuric acid is considered.