Thermodynamic analysis of syngas production via the solar thermochemical cerium oxide redox cycle with methane-driven reduction

Peter T. Krenzke, Jane H. Davidson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

73 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present work considers the convergence of two approaches for syngas production: solar fuels via the cerium oxide (ceria) redox cycle and the partial oxidation of methane. The chemical thermodynamics of the ceria-methane system reveal that coupling the reduction of ceria to the partial oxidation of methane enables isothermal cycling at temperatures as low as 1223 K with the additional production of high-quality syngas during the reduction step. The equilibrium non-stoichiometry of the oxidation step has a substantial impact on the conversion of the oxidizer to fuel, with important implications for cycle efficiency. A model of the process thermodynamics is used to evaluate the efficiency of the cycle and its sensitivity to oxidation non-stoichiometry, temperature, and concentration ratio. Reduction with methane enables significant gains in efficiency over other proposed approaches, with plausible solar-to-fuel efficiencies reaching 40% without any heat recovery.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4088-4095
Number of pages8
JournalEnergy and Fuels
Volume28
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 19 2014

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