Hydrogen production from fusion reactors coupled with high temperature electrolysis

Conference ·

OSTI ID:6615408

Fillo, J A; Powell, J R; Steinberg, M

The decreasing availability of fossil fuels emphasizes the need to develop systems which will produce synthetic fuel to substitute for and complement the natural supply. An important first step in the synthesis of liquid and gaseous fuels is the production of hydrogen. Thermonuclear fusion offers an inexhaustible source of energy for the production of hydrogen from water. Processes which may be considered for this purpose include electrolysis, thermochemical decomposition or thermochemical-electrochemical hybrid cycles. Preliminary studies at Brookhaven indicate that high temperature electrolysis has the highest potential efficiency for production of hydrogen from fusion. Depending on design electric generation efficiencies of approximately 40 to 60 percent and hydrogen production efficiencies of approximately 50 to 70 percent are projected for fusion reactors using high temperature blankets.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-02-0016
• OSTI ID: 6615408
• Report Number(s): BNL-24625; CONF-780807-9
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

060300* -- Fusion Fuels-- By-Products-- (-1987)
08 HYDROGEN
080100 -- Hydrogen-- Production
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BREEDING BLANKETS
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
DESIGN
ECONOMICS
EFFICIENCY
ELECTROLYSIS
ELECTROLYTIC CELLS
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
LYSIS
NONMETALS
OXYGEN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRODUCTION
REACTOR COMPONENTS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
USES
WATER