Solar thermochemical H2 production via MnSO4/MnO water splitting cycle: Thermodynamic equilibrium and efficiency analysis

Abstract

In this paper, a detailed thermodynamic equilibrium and efficiency analysis of the MnSO4/MnO water splitting (WS) cycle is carried out using HSC Chemistry software. By drifting the molar flow rate of inert Ar (n˙Ar) and thermal reduction temperature (TH), the thermodynamic compositions related to both thermal reduction (TR) and WS steps are identified. Moreover, the consequence of TH, n˙Ar, and WS temperature (TL) on the process parameters associated with the cycle is also inspected. The obtained results denote that this cycle can attain a solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency () up to 45.3% if the TR and WS steps are conducted at 1573 K and 550 K, respectively. By employing heat recuperation up to 10, 30, and 50%, the ηsolar−to−fuel of the MnSO4/MnO WS cycle can be increased up to 47.6%, 53.1%, and 60.0%, correspondingly. Based on the ηsolar−to−fuel = 45.3%, the performance of the MnSO4/MnO WS cycle appears to be better than the formerly probed metal oxide based WS cycles.