Solar fuels are emerging as a viable pathway towards closing the gap between fuel production and consumption in the United States. If these fuels can be produced on large scale and achieve carbon-neutrality, a truly sustainable energy solution may be realized. Hydrogen is among the list of attractive solar fuels. Whether used in a PEM fuel cell or combustion engine, hydrogen as a fuel produced from sunlight and water represents an elegant energy harvesting cycle, with zero-emissions, high efficiency, and exceptional power-density. A novel solar-thermochemical reactor has been designed and constructed for the reduction of ZnO at temperatures close to 2000K as the first step in a closed two-step thermochemical cycle to produce hydrogen from water as a solar fuel. Abbreviated as GRAFSTRR (Gravity-Fed Solar-Thermochemical Receiver/Reactor), the reactor is closed to the atmosphere, and features an inverted conical-shaped reaction surface along which ZnO powder descends continuously as a falling sheet and undergoes a thermochemical reaction upon exposure to highly concentrated sunlight. The reactant feed is vibration-induced, metered, and gravity-driven. Beam-down, highly concentrated sunlight enters the reaction cavity through a water-cooled aperture, and Zn product gas is siphoned into a centrally-located exit stream via a stabilized vortex flow of inert gas originating from above the aperture plane. Unreacted or partially reacted solids exit annularly around the product stream. In this paper the GRAFSTRR concept is presented. Select design choices and investigations are summarized.
Metal Oxide Based Solar Thermochemistry for Solar Fuels and Thermochemical Storage: Special Considerations for the Solar Concentrators
