Heike Simon

Materials-Related Aspects of Thermochemical Water and Carbon Dioxide Splitting: A Review

Thermochemical multistep water- and CO2-splitting processes are promising options to face future energy problems. Particularly, the possible incorporation of solar power makes these processes sustainable and environmentally attractive since only water, CO2 and solar power are used; the concentrated solar energy is converted into storable and transportable fuels. One of the major barriers to technological success is the identification of suitable active materials like catalysts and redox materials exhibiting satisfactory durability, reactivity and efficiencies. Moreover, materials play an important role in the construction of key components and for the implementation in commercial solar plants. The most promising thermochemical water- and CO2-splitting processes are being described and discussed with respect to further development and future potential. The main materials-related challenges of those processes are being analyzed. Technical approaches and development progress in terms of solving them are addressed and assessed in this review.

Material Analysis of Coated Siliconized Silicon Carbide (SiSiC) Honeycomb Structures for Thermochemical Hydrogen Production

In the present work, thermochemical water splitting with siliconized silicon carbide (SiSiC) honeycombs coated with a zinc ferrite redox material was investigated. The small scale coated monoliths were tested in a laboratory test-rig and characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with corresponding micro analysis after testing in order to characterize the changes in morphology and composition. Comparison of several treated monoliths revealed the formation of various reaction products such as SiO2, zircon (ZrSiO4), iron silicide (FeSi) and hercynite (FeAl2O4) indicating the occurrence of various side reactions between the different phases of the coating as well as between the coating and the SiSiC substrate. The investigations showed that the ferrite is mainly reduced through reaction with silicon (Si), which is present in the SiSiC matrix, and silicon carbide (SiC). These results led to the formulation of a new redox mechanism for this system in which Zn-ferrite is reduced through Si forming silicon dioxide (SiO2) and through SiC forming SiO2 and carbon monoxide. A decline of hydrogen production within the first 20 cycles is suggested to be due to the growth of a silicon dioxide and zircon layer which acts as a diffusion barrier for the reacting specie.

Investigations of the Regeneration Step of a Thermochemical Cycle Using Mixed Iron Oxides Coated on SiSiC Substrates

A two-step thermochemical cycle for hydrogen production using mixed iron oxides coated on silicon carbide substrates has been investigated. The water-splitting step proceeds at temperatures between 800 and 1000 °C while for the regeneration step temperatures around 1200 °C are needed. A deactivation of the material resulting in a decrease of the hydrogen production within the first couple of cycles was observed in preceding tests. For detailed investigations of the system composed of the redox-material and the substrate small scale samples were tested in a laboratory test-rig. For identification of material changes the samples were investigated via XRD and SEM-EDS analysis. The analysis revealed the reasons for the deactivation of the redox-material. Through parametric studies the influence of the regeneration parameters, namely regeneration temperature and time on the hydrogen production was analysed. A model for the regeneration step was developed describing the performance of the regeneration step as a function of temperature and time and additionally as a function of total regeneration time, i.e. the cumulated time the sample has been regenerated.Copyright