EFRI-RESTOR: Thermochemical Routes to Efficient and Rapid Production of Solar Fuels

EFRI-RESTOR：高效快速生产太阳能燃料的热化学途径

• 批准号: 1038307
• 负责人: Sossina Haile
• 金额: $ 200万
• 依托单位: California Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-08-15 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1038307&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EFRI; RESTOR; Thermochemical; Routes; Efficient

The objective of this project is to transform and expand the nation's renewable energy storage capacity using a thermochemical approach for converting the energy of photons into chemical bonds. The approach relies on the capacity of selected nonstoichiometric metal oxides, specifically cerium oxide (ceria), to store and release oxygen in response to changes in temperature, where the thermal cycling is induced by exposure to solar radiation. The resulting stoichiometry changes can be directly utilized for fuel production when coupled with the introduction of appropriate reactant gases. Such fuel, in turn, can be used for electricity generation on demand, employing either conventional combustion or fuel cells. The PIs will build on recent breakthroughs in the understanding of thermochemical cycling behavior of nonstoichiometric oxides and expand the effort so as to (a) attain targeted thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics and (b) demonstrate technical feasibility in a prototype reactor, designed and optimized on the basis of validated models and measured material properties. Critical to the materials success is enhancing reaction kinetics and tuning the thermodynamics of the redox reactions so as to enable operation at temperatures compatible with reactor construction materials and solar concentrating optics under atmospheres conducive to high heat recovery. Both objectives will be pursued through the introduction of transition metal dopants and other substitutional cations into the host oxide, modifications which can further enhance solar absorptance. Beyond the manipulation of the fundamental materials properties, porous materials with engineered architectures will be employed to enhance thermochemical cycling characteristics, by, for example, providing high surface area for rapid reaction kinetics, ensuring minimal resistance to gas flow, and providing tunable solar absorption properties. A hierarchy of thermal and solar-thermal reactor models with increasing complexity will be employed to achieve the transition from benchtop experiments to a working prototype operated under concentrated solar radiation. A thermochemical approach to solar energy storage has the potential for large-scale implementation and hence broad impact because the method employs relatively earth-abundant materials, and the efficiency can be extremely high. Beyond the advancement of a technically feasible approach, the proposal provides a multi-disciplinary and international environment for the education and training of the next generation of energy scientists and technologists.The FY 2010 EFRI-RESTOR Topic that supports this project was sponsored by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorates for Engineering (ENG), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Computer & Information Science and Engineering in collaboration with the US Department of Energy (DOE).

该项目的目的是使用热化学方法将光子的能量转化为化学键，转化和扩展国家可再生能源存储能力。该方法依赖于选定的非杂化金属氧化物，特别是氧化铜（ceria）的能力，以响应温度变化而储存和释放氧气，其中热循环是通过暴露于太阳辐射而诱导的。与引入适当的反应物质的引入时，所得的化学计量变化可直接用于燃料产生。反过来，这种燃料可用于按需发电，使用常规燃烧或燃料电池。 PI将基于最新的突破，以理解非化学计量氧化物的热化学循环行为并扩大努力，以便（a）达到靶向的热力学和动力学特性，并且（b）在原型反应器中表现出技术可行性，根据验证模型和测量的材料具有设计和优化的原型反应器。对材料成功至关重要的是增强反应动力学并调整氧化还原反应的热力学，以便在与反应堆建筑材料兼容的温度下运行，在有助于高热量恢复的大气下进行太阳浓缩光学器件。将通过将过渡金属掺杂剂和其他替代阳离子引入宿主氧化物，从而实现这两个目标，从而可以进一步增强太阳吸收。除了操纵基本材料特性外，还将采用具有工程结构的多孔材料来增强热化学循环特性，例如，为快速反应动力学提供高表面积，确保对气体流动的最小耐药性，并提供可调的吸收性特性。将采用具有较高复杂性的热和太阳能反应器模型的层次结构，以实现从台式实验到在浓缩太阳辐射下操作的工作原型的过渡。 太阳能储能的热化学方法具有大规模实施的潜力，因此由于该方法采用相对较高的材料，并且效率可能非常高。 Beyond the advancement of a technically feasible approach, the proposal provides a multi-disciplinary and international environment for the education and training of the next generation of energy scientists and technologists.The FY 2010 EFRI-RESTOR Topic that supports this project was sponsored by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorates for Engineering (ENG), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sc​​iences (SBE), and Computer & Information Science与美国能源部（DOE）合作的工程。