Thermally-driven adsorption/desorption cycle for oxygen pumping in thermochemical fuel production

Abstract

The two-step cycle for solar-thermochemical fuels production and thermochemical energy storage benefits from low oxygen partial pressure in the high-temperature thermal reduction step. To be practical, low oxygen partial pressures must be reached by energetically efficient and economically affordable methods—a challenge currently not met by either mechanical vacuum pumping or by inert gas sweeping. To address this challenge, we have examined a promising, thermally-driven surface adsorption/desorption approach. Providing that appropriately designed materials can be identified as expected, this approach would substantially advance solar-thermochemical fuel production (water and carbon dioxide splitting), thermochemical energy storage, and related technologies.