Integrated solar thermochemical reaction system for steam methane reforming
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Diver Solar LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Solar-aided upgrade of the energy content of fossil fuels, such as natural gas, can provide a near-term transition path towards a future solar-fuel economy and reduce carbon dioxide emission from fossil fuel consumption. Both steam and dry reforming a methane-containing fuel stream have been studied with concentrated solar power as the energy input to drive the highly endothermic reactions but the concept has not been demonstrated at a commercial scale. Under a current project with the U.S. Department of Energy, PNNL is developing an integrated solar thermochemical reaction system that combines solar concentrators with micro- and meso-channel reactors and heat exchangers to accomplish more than 20% solar augment of methane higher heating value. The objective of our three-year project is to develop and prepare for commercialization such solar reforming system with a high enough efficiency to serve as the frontend of a conventional natural gas (or biogas) combined cycle power plant, producing power with a levelized cost of electricity less than 6¢/kWh, without subsidies, by the year 2020. In this paper, we present results from the first year of our project that demonstrated a solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency as high as 69% with a prototype reaction system.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1208780
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-104155; SL0100000
- Journal Information:
- Energy Procedia (Online), Vol. 69; ISSN 1876-6102
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Solar thermal reforming of methane feedstocks for hydrogen and syngas production—A review
|
journal | January 2014 |
Receiver/Reactor Concepts for Thermochemical Transport of Solar Energy
|
journal | August 1987 |
Methane and Ethane Steam Reforming over MgAl2O4-Supported Rh and Ir Catalysts: Catalytic Implications for Natural Gas Reforming Application
|
journal | September 2019 |
Dry Reforming in a Milli-Scale Reactor Driven by Simulated Sunlight
|
journal | October 2018 |
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