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 solar to fuel of the MnSO4/MnO WS cycle can be increased up to 47.6%, 53.1%, and 60.0%, correspondingly. Based on the solar 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.