Solar Thermochemical Splitting of CO2 in a Modular Solar Dish-Reactor System

Abstract

We report on the experimental demonstration of a modular solar dish-reactor system to perform the splitting of CO2 into separate streams of CO and O2 via a 2-step thermochemical cycle based on ceria redox reaction. Since only the reduction step requires a solar input, the system comprises two solar reactors mounted side-by-side on a sun-tracking dish concentrator coupled to a secondary rotating reflector that allows for simultaneous operation of both reactors by alternating the concentrated solar input between them. Each solar reactor consists of a cavity-receiver containing a reticulated porous structure made of ceria exposed to a solar radiative power input of 6 kW at 2360 suns entering through the cavity's aperture. Process stability and system robustness are demonstrated by performing fully automated consecutive redox cycles.