Chapter 19 - Solar fuels and industrial solar chemistry

Abstract

The main advantage of concentrated solar power (CSP) is the production of carbon-free energy. However, the problem is that the energy produced must be directly consumed. This could be dealt with the chemical storage of solar energy in the form of an energy carrier such as hydrogen (H2), which is transportable and dispatchable. The available routes to produce solar hydrogen as well as different kinds of solar reactors known from the literature are presented. If solar thermochemical processes are used to decompose hydrocarbons (either biomass or fossil), the resulting mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO) can be used as the feedstock for ‘Fischer Tropsch’-based liquid fuel production, for diesel and gasoline replacements. In addition, the idea of combining solar H2 with carbon dioxide (CO2), considered a waste stream, to produce renewable solar HC fuels is discussed. This is an attractive way to manage the problem of CO2 storage and, at the same time, to create an intermediate step which is essential for the development of the appropriate infrastructure that could support the H2 economy. Finally, potential industrial applications of solar fuels and solar energy are described.