Thermal management of the copper-chlorine cycle for hydrogen production: analytical and experimental investigation of heat recovery from molten salt
type: CreativeWork
description: Hydrogen is known as a clean energy carrier which has the potential to play a major role in addressing the climate change and global warming, and thermochemical water splitting via the copper-chlorine cycle is a promising method of hydrogen production. In this research, thermal management of the copper-chlorine cycle for hydrogen production is investigated by performing analytical and experimental analyses of selected heat recovery options. First, the heat requirement of the copper-chlorine cycle is estimated. The pinch analysis is used to determine the maximum recoverable heat within the cycle, and where in the cycle the recovered heat can be used efficiently. It is shown that a major part of the potential heat recovery can be achieved by cooling and solidifying molten copper(I) chloride exiting one step in the cycle: the oxygen reactor. Heat transfer from molten CuCl can be carried out through direct contact or indirect contact methods. Predictive analytical models are developed to analyze a direct contact heat recovery process (i.e. a spray column) and an indirect contact heat recovery process (i.e. a double-pipe heat exchanger). Characteristics of a spray column, in which recovered heat from molten CuCl is used to produce superheated steam, are presented. Decreasing the droplet size may increase the heat transfer rate from the droplet, and hence decreases the required height of the heat exchanger. For a droplet of 1 mm, the height of the heat exchanger is predicted to be about 7 m. The effect of hydrogen production on the heat exchanger diameter was also shown. For a hydrogen production rate of 1000 kg/day, the diameter of the heat exchanger is about 3 m for a droplet size of 1 mm and 2.2 m for a droplet size of 2 mm. The results for axial growth of the solid layer and variations of the coolant temperature and wall temperature of a double-pipe heat exchanger are also presented. It is shown that reducing the inner tube diameter will increase the heat exchanger le…
abstract: Hydrogen is known as a clean energy carrier which has the potential to play a major role in addressing the climate change and global warming, and thermochemical water splitting via the copper-chlorine cycle is a promising method of hydrogen production. In this research, thermal management of the copper-chlorine cycle for hydrogen production is investigated by performing analytical and experimental analyses of selected heat recovery options. First, the heat requirement of the copper-chlorine cycle is estimated. The pinch analysis is used to determine the maximum recoverable heat within the cycle, and where in the cycle the recovered heat can be used efficiently. It is shown that a major part of the potential heat recovery can be achieved by cooling and solidifying molten copper(I) chloride exiting one step in the cycle: the oxygen reactor. Heat transfer from molten CuCl can be carried out through direct contact or indirect contact methods. Predictive analytical models are developed to analyze a direct contact heat recovery process (i.e. a spray column) and an indirect contact heat recovery process (i.e. a double-pipe heat exchanger). Characteristics of a spray column, in which recovered heat from molten CuCl is used to produce superheated steam, are presented. Decreasing the droplet size may increase the heat transfer rate from the droplet, and hence decreases the required height of the heat exchanger. For a droplet of 1 mm, the height of the heat exchanger is predicted to be about 7 m. The effect of hydrogen production on the heat exchanger diameter was also shown. For a hydrogen production rate of 1000 kg/day, the diameter of the heat exchanger is about 3 m for a droplet size of 1 mm and 2.2 m for a droplet size of 2 mm. The results for axial growth of the solid layer and variations of the coolant temperature and wall temperature of a double-pipe heat exchanger are also presented. It is shown that reducing the inner tube diameter will increase the heat exchanger le…
author: Ghandehariun, Samane
language: en
keywords: Copper-chlorine cycle, Hydrogen production, Experimental, Molten salt, Heat recovery
date published: 2012-08-01
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:35:38Z
provider: Ontario Institute of Technology
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Ontario Institute of Technology

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10155/271