%A Jiahui JIN, Lei WANG, Mingkai FU, Xin LI, Yuanwei LU %T Thermodynamic assessment of hydrogen production via solar thermochemical cycle based on MoO2/Mo by methane reduction %0 Journal Article %D 2020 %J Front. Energy %J Frontiers in Energy %@ 2095-1701 %R 10.1007/s11708-019-0652-9 %P 71-80 %V 14 %N 1 %U {https://journal.hep.com.cn/fie/EN/10.1007/s11708-019-0652-9 %8 2020-03-15 %X

Inspired by the promising hydrogen production in the solar thermochemical (STC) cycle based on non-stoichiometric oxides and the operation temperature decreasing effect of methane reduction, a high-fuel-selectivity and CH4-introduced solar thermochemical cycle based on MoO2/Mo is studied. By performing HSC simulations, the energy upgradation and energy conversion potential under isothermal and non-isothermal operating conditions are compared. In the reduction step, MoO2: CH4 = 2 and 1020 K<Tred<1600 K are found to be most favorable for syngas selectivity and methane conversion. Compared to the STC cycle without CH4, the introduction of methane yields a much higher hydrogen production, especially at the lower temperature range and atmospheric pressure. In the oxidation step, a moderately excessive water is beneficial for energy conversion whether in isothermal or non-isothermal operations, especially at H2O: Mo= 4. In the whole STC cycle, the maximum non-isothermal and isothermal efficiency can reach 0.417 and 0.391 respectively. In addition, the predicted efficiency of the second cycle is also as high as 0.454 at Tred = 1200 K and Toxi = 400 K, indicating that MoO2 could be a new and potential candidate for obtaining solar fuel by methane reduction.