Hydrosol project

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The HYDROSOL project (short for 'Catalytic Monolith Reactor for Hydrogen Generation from Solar Water Splitting') is a project funded by the European Union as part of the promotion of renewable energies . The aim of the project is the CO 2 -free hydrogen production using concentrated solar energy .

technology

In the Hydrosol project, thermal water splitting is researched using a thermochemical cycle. Here, water is broken down into its components hydrogen and oxygen in two process steps. In the first process step, water reacts with a metal oxide, which is present in reduced form. The metal oxide binds the oxygen and hydrogen is released. If the metal oxide is oxidized to the point that it can no longer absorb any more oxygen, it has to be reduced again , which is also said to be 'regenerated'. This can be done under vacuum or under an inert gas atmosphere.

Example (M: metal; M (II): metal of oxidation state II; O: oxygen; H: hydrogen):

Cleavage step: M (II) O reduces + H 2 O → M (IV) O 2 oxidizes + H 2
Regeneration step: M (IV) O 2 oxidizes → M (II) O reduces + 1/2 O 2

Once the material has been regenerated, another cleavage step can follow, etc. The cleavage step takes place at temperatures of 800 to 1200 ° C, the regeneration step at 1000 to 1300 ° C.

Iron oxide-based redox materials are used in the Hydrosol project . The iron oxide materials used are not a catalyst in the usual sense, but a reactant. The energy required in the process is brought in by concentrated solar energy.

Other projects are investigating similar processes with other metals, for example zinc .

The hydrogen produced by solar energy in this way is a CO 2 -neutral energy carrier . This technology could therefore be of particular interest in sunny regions.

The project started in December 2002 with a budget of 2.6 million euros and ended on schedule in October 2005. The follow-up project Hydrosol II started in November 2005.

Project participant

The participants in the consortium of the project are:

  • Aerosol & Particle Technology Laboratory, CERTH / CPERI (Greece)
  • Laboratory of Inorganic Materials, CERTH / CPERI (Greece)
  • German Aerospace Center e. V. (Germany)
  • Heliotech Aps. (Denmark)
  • Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Plc. (England)

Awards

The Hydrosol project has won the following awards:

  • Descartes Prize of the European Commission 2006
  • IPHE Technical Achievement Award 2006 (Lyon / France)
  • International Award Expo 2005 (Japan)

literature

  • C. Agrafiotis et al. (2005): Solar water splitting for hydrogen production with monolithic reactors . Solar Energy 79: 409-421.

Patent literature

  • EP000001775022A1 "Process for the production of a catalytic coating and a catalyst filter"
  • EP000001712517A1 "Gas-solid phase reaction"
  • WO002006108769A1 "Gas-solid phase reaction"
  • DE102005040255A1 "Production of hydrogen and oxygen from water and storage"
  • DE102005017216A1 "Thermal hydrogen production in a gas-solid phase reaction"

Web links