Hybrid Sulfur Electrolyzer Development FY09 Second Quarter Report for January 1, 2009-March 31, 2009

摘要

The primary objective of the DOE-NE Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI) is to develop the nuclear hydrogen production technologies necessary to produce hydrogen at a cost competitive with other alternative transportation fuels. The focus of the NHI is on thermochemical cycles and high temperature electrolysis that can be powered by heat from high temperature gas reactors. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has been tasked with the primary responsibility to perform research and development in order to characterize, evaluate and develop the Hybrid Sulfur (HyS) thermochemical process. This report documents work during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2009, for the period between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2009. The HyS Process is a two-step hybrid thermochemical cycle that is part of the 'Sulfur Family' of cycles. As a sulfur cycle, it uses high temperature thermal decomposition of sulfuric acid to produce oxygen and to regenerate the sulfur dioxide reactant. The second step of the process uses a sulfur dioxide depolarized electrolyzer (SDE) to split water and produce hydrogen by electrochemically reacting sulfur dioxide with H(sub 2)O. The SDE produces sulfuric acid, which is then sent to the acid decomposer to complete the cycle. The DOE NHI program is developing the acid decomposer at Sandia National Laboratory for application to both the HyS Process and the Sulfur Iodine Cycle. The SDE is being developed at SRNL. During FY05 and FY06, SRNL designed and conducted proof-of-concept testing for a SDE using a low temperature, PEM fuel cell-type design concept. The advantages of this design concept include high electrochemical efficiency, small footprint and potential for low capital cost, characteristics that are crucial for successful implementation on a commercial scale.