System Integration of the Cu-Cl Cycle of Thermochemical Hydrogen Production

氢是一种清洁的能源载体，在显著减少温室气体排放方面具有广阔的前景。然而，主要的现有制氢方法（即，蒸汽甲烷重整（SMR）和煤气化）是排放温室气体的碳基技术。 制氢的热化学循环是传统制氢方法的有前途的替代方案，因为它们使用水和热作为原料，没有外部排放到环境中。热能和水是主要的投入，电力使用较少。 热化学水裂解工艺有可能最大限度地减少与当前制氢方法相关的碳足迹，而是生产清洁和可持续的氢气，用于广泛的应用，包括脱碳运输，海洋和航空，以及绿化天然气管道的家庭和工业应用。拟议的研究项目建立在成功和有效的伙伴关系，加拿大核实验室在十多年的联合研发工作。 该项目的目标是优化单元操作，形成一个完全集成的实验室规模的循环，作为第一步，将其扩大到工业规模的中试规模示范技术，以实现商业化。 UOIT，纽芬兰纪念大学和加拿大核实验室之间将有重要的合作。CNL将协助整合过程，从而使该技术商业化，同时受益于该项目的研究成果。

Hydrogen is a clean energy carrier with a promising future to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the predominant existing methods of hydrogen production (i.e., steam-methane reforming- SMR- and coal-gasification) are carbon-based technologies that emit greenhouse gases. Thermochemical cycles of hydrogen production are promising alternatives to traditional hydrogen production methods, as they use water and heat as a feedstock, with no external emissions to the environment. Thermal energy and water are the main inputs, with electricity used to a lesser extent. The thermochemical water splitting process has the potential to minimize the carbon footprint associated with the current methods of hydrogen production and instead produce clean and sustainable hydrogen for use in a wide range of applications including decarbonizing transportation, marine and aviation, as well as greening the Natural Gas pipelines for domestic and industrial applications.The proposed research project builds on the success and effective partnership with the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories over a decade of joint R&D work. The objective of this project is to optimize unit operations to form a fully integrated lab-scale loop as a first step to scale it up to a pilot-scale demonstration of the technology on an industrial scale for commercialization. There will be significant collaboration between UOIT, Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Canadian Nuclear Labs. CNL will assist in the integration process leading to the commercialization of this technology while benefiting from the research outcomes of this project.