• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.249-258
• /
• 2002

Thermochemical water-splitting IS(Iodine-Sulfur) process has been investigating for large-scale hydrogen production. For the construction of an efficient process scheme, two kinds of membrane technologies are under investigating to improve the hydrogen producing HI decomposition step. One is a concentration of HI in quasi-azeotropic HIx ($HI-H_2O-I_2$) solution by elecro-electrodialysis. It was confirmed that HI concentrated from the $HI-H_2O-I_2$ solution with a molar ratio of 1:5:1 at $80^{\circ}C$. The other is a membrane reactor to enhance the one-pass conversion of thermal decomposition reaction of gaseous hydrogen iodide (HI). It was found from the simulation study that the conversion of over 0.9 would be attainable using the membrane reactor using the gas permeation properties of the prepared silica hydrogen permselective membrane by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Design criterion of the membrane reactor was also discussed.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.56-61
• /
• 2018

In Bunsen reaction section for the integrated operation of sulfur-iodine (SI) process, $I_2$ and $H_2O$ reactants are supplied as dissolved species in an $HI_x$ solution. Most of the $H_2SO_4$ product is found in the $HI_x$ phase when Bunsen reaction is performed using the $HI_x$ solution and $SO_2$ feed, so that the volume ratio of the $H_2SO_4$ phase to the $HI_x$ phase is very low. In this study, we investigated the effects of ultrasound irradiation on Bunsen reaction using the $HI_x$ solution to improve its phase separation performance. With ultrasound irradiation, the amount of $H_2SO_4$ moved to the $H_2SO_4$ phase from the $HI_x$ phase increased by up to 58.0 mol% and the volume of $H_2SO_4$ phase also increased by up to 13.1 vol%. In particular, the effect of ultrasound irradiation on the phase separation was improved with decreasing operating temperature, $I_2$ and $H_2O$ feed concentrations. The ultrasound irradiation induces the formation of additional $H_2O$ molecules by shifting microscopically the reaction equilibrium in the $HI_x$ phase. Afterward, the additionally generated $H_2O$ and isolated $H_2SO_4$ molecules form more $H_2SO_4{\cdot}xH_2O$ (x = 5-6) clusters that can be moved to the $H_2SO_4$ phase.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.749-758
• /
• 2011

The present work explores the performance and operation limit of electrodialysis cell for HI concentration in sulfur iodine thermochemical hydrogen production process, For this purpose, the electrodialysis cell was assembled with Nafion 117 as a PEM membrane and two activated carbon papers as the electrodes. HIx solution was prepared with composition of HI: $I_2$: $H_2O$ = 1: 0.5~2.5: 5.2 in molar ratio. The cell and its peripheral apparatus were placed in the specially designed convective oven in order to uniformly maintain the operation temperature. As operation temperature increased, the amount of water transport from anode to cathode increased, thus reducing HI molarity in catholyte. Meanwhile, the current efficiency was constant as about 90 %, irrespective of temperature change. The cell voltage increased with initial $I_2$ mole ratio as well as anolyte to catholyte mole ratio. Moreover the cell voltage overshot took place within 10 h cell operation, which is due to the $I_2$ precipitation inside the cell. From the analysis of $I_2$ mole ratio in the anolyte, it is noted that operation limit (in $I_2$ mole ratio) of the electrodialysis cell, arising from was measured to be 3.2, which is much lower than bulk solubility limit of 4.7.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.421-428
• /
• 2012

The Sulfur-Iodine (SI) thermochemical hydrogen production process is one of the most promising thermochemical water splitting technologies. In the integrated operation of the SI process, the $O_2$ produced from a $H_2SO_4$ decomposition section could be supplied directly to the Bunsen reaction section without preliminary separation. A $HI_x$ ($I_2+HI+H_2O$) solution could be also provided as the reactants in a Bunsen reaction section, since the sole separation of $I_2$ in a $HI_x$ solution recycled from a HI decomposition section was very difficult. Therefore, the Bunsen reaction using $SO_2-O_2$ mixture gases in the presence of the $HI_x$ solution was carried out to identify the effect of $O_2$. The amount of $I_2$ unreacted under the feed of $SO_2-O_2$ mixture gases was little higher than that under the feed of $SO_2$ gas only, and the amount of HI produced was relatively decreased. The $O_2$ in $SO_2-O_2$ mixture gases also played a role to decrease the amount of a impurity in $HI_x$ phase by only striping effect, while that in $H_2SO_4$ phase was hardly affected.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.52 no.4
• /
• pp.459-466
• /
• 2014

SI Cyclic process is one of the thermochemical hydrogen production processes using iodine and sulfur for producing hydrogen molecules from water. VHTR (Very High Temperature Reactor) can be used to supply heat to hydrogen production process, which is a high temperature nuclear reactor. IHX (Intermediate Heat Exchanger) is necessary to transfer heat to hydrogen production process safely without radioactivity. In this study, the strategy for the optimum design of IHX between SI hydrogen process and VHTR is proposed for various operating pressures of the reactor, and the different cooling fluids. Most economical efficiency of IHX is also proposed along with process conditions.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.37-43
• /
• 2007

Iodine sulfur (IS) process is one of the promising processes for a hydrogen production by using a high temperature heat generated by a very high temperature gas cooled reactor(VHTR) in the nuclear power industries. Even though the IS process is very efficient for a hydrogen production and it is not accompanied by a carbon dioxide evolution, the highly corrosive environment of the process limits its application in the industry. Corrosion tests of selected materials were performed in sulfuric acid to select appropriate materials compatible with the IS process. The materials used in this work were Fe-Cr alloys, Fe-Ni-Cr alloys, Fe-Si alloys, Ni base alloys, Ta, Ti, Zr, SiC, Fe-Si, etc. The test environments were 50 wt% sulfuric acid at $120^{\circ}C$ and 98 wt% at $320^{\circ}C$. Corrosion rates were measured by using a weight change after an immersion. The surface morphologies and cross sectional areas of the corroded materials were examined by using SEM equipped with EDS. Corrosion behaviors of the materials were discussed in terms of the chemical composition of the materials, a weight loss, the corrosion morphology, the precipitates in the microstructure and the surface layer composition.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.139-151
• /
• 2011

The sulfur-iodine (SI) thermochemical water splitting cycle is one of promising hydrogen production methods from water using high-temperature heat generated from a high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor (HTGR). The SI cycle consists of three main units, such as Bunsen reaction, HI decomposition, and $H_2SO_4$ decomposition. The feasibility of continuous operation of a series of subunits for $H_2SO_4$ decomposition was investigated with a bench-scale facility working at ambient pressure. It showed stable and reproducible $H_2SO_4$ decomposition by steadily producing $SO_2$ and $O_2$ corresponding to a capacity of 1 mol/h $H_2$ for 24 hrs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.537-556
• /
• 2005

A primary-pipe rupture accident is one of the design-basis accidents of a High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR). When the primary-pipe rupture accident occurs, air is expected to enter the reactor core from the breach and oxidize in-core graphite structures. This paper describes an experiment and analysis of the air ingress phenomena and the method fur the prevention of air ingress into the reactor during the primary-pipe rupture accident. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental ones regarding the density of the gas mixture, the concentration of each gas species produced by the graphite oxidation reaction and the onset time of the natural circulation of air. A hydrogen production system connected to the High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) Is being designed to be able to produce hydrogen by themo-chemical iodine-Sulfur process, using a nuclear heat of 10 MW supplied by the HTTR. The HTTR hydrogen production system is first connected to a nuclear reactor in the world; hence a permeation test of hydrogen isotopes through heat exchanger is carried out to obtain detailed data for safety review and development of analytical codes. This paper also describes an overview of the hydrogen permeation test and permeability of hydrogen and deuterium of Hastelloy XR.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2007

Hydrogen and electricity are expected to dominate the world energy system in the long term. The world currently consumes about 50 million metric tons of hydrogen per year, with the bulk of it being consumed by the chemical and refining industries. The demand for hydrogen is expected to increase, especially if the U.S. and other countries shift their energy usage towards a hydrogen economy, with hydrogen consumed as an energy commodity by the transportation, residential and commercial sectors. However, there is strong motivation to not use fossil fuels in the future as a feedstock for hydrogen production, because the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is a byproduct and fossil fuel prices are expected to increase significantly. An advanced reactor technology receiving considerable international interest for both electricity and hydrogen production, is the modular helium reactor (MHR), which is a passively safe concept that has evolved from earlier high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) designs. For hydrogen production, this concept is referred to as the H2-MHR. Two different hydrogen production technologies are being investigated for the H2-MHR; an advanced sulfur-iodine (SI) thermochemical water splitting process and high-temperature electrolysis (HTE). This paper describes pre-conceptual design descriptions and economic evaluations of full-scale, nth-of-a-kind SI-Based and HTE-Based H2-MHR plants. Hydrogen production costs for both types of plants are estimated to be approximately $2 per kilogram.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.13-21
• /
• 2016

The Sulfur-Iodine thermochemical hydrogen production process (SI process) consists of the Bunsen reaction section, the $H_2SO_4$ decomposition section, and the HI decomposition section. The $HI_x$ solution ($I_2-HI-H_2O$) could be recycled to Bunsen reaction section from the HI decomposition section in the operation of the integrated SI process. The phase separation characteristic of the Bunsen reaction using the $HI_x$ solution was similar to that of $I_2-H_2O-SO_2$ system. On the other hands, the amount of produced $H_2SO_4$ phase was small. To investigate the effects of $SO_2$ solubility on Bunsen reaction, the continuous Bunsen reaction was performed at variation of the amounts of $SO_2$ gas. Also, it was carried out to make sure of the effects of partial pressure of $SO_2$ in the condition of 3bar of $SO_2-O_2$ atmosphere. As the results, the characteristic of Bunsen reaction was improved with increasing the amounts and solubility of $SO_2$ gas. The concentration of Bunsen products was changed by reverse Bunsen reaction and evaporation of HI after 12 h.