High-power high-brightness solar laser approach for renewable Mg recovery from MgO

Abstract

Hydrogen and heat energy from the reaction of magnesium with water can be used for engines and fuel cells. However, at least 4000 K is necessary for magnesium oxide reduction. Ultra high brightness solar-pumped lasers become essential to make this renewable process technology efficient and economically competitive. 2.3 mg/kJ solar laser - induced magnesium production efficiency has been achieved by T. Yabe et al., in 2012, by focusing a 53 W solar laser beam on a mixture of MgO with Si as reducing agent. This result is however far from the 12.1 mg/kJ attained with 2 kW/mm2 CO2 laser beam. To improve substantially the solar laser - induced Mg production efficiency, a simple high-power, high brightness Nd:YAG solar laser pumping approach is proposed. The solar radiation is both collected and concentrated by four Fresnel lenses, and redirected towards a Nd:YAG laser head by four plane folding mirrors. A fused-silica secondary concentrator is used to compress the highly concentrated solar radiation to a laser rod. Optimum pumping conditions and laser resonator parameters are found through ZEMAX© and LASCAD© numerical analysis. High-record solar laser beam brightness figure of merit - defined as the ratio between laser power and the product of M_x ²and M_y ² - of 10.5 W is numerically achieved, being 5.5 times higher than the previous record and about 1600 times more than that of the most powerful Nd:YAG solar laser. 8340 W/mm² is numerically achieved at its focal region, which can quadruple the magnesium production efficiency with clean energy.