Effect of spectral-selectivity on the performance of thermochemical cycling driven by concentrated solar energy

LIN Pengzhu; LOU Jiahui; LI Jianlan; HAO Yong

doi:10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2020.25.038

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Journal of Tsinghua University(Science and Technology) ›› 2021, Vol. 61 ›› Issue (12) : 1389-1396. DOI: 10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2020.25.038

SPECIAL TOPIC:HEAT TRANSFER AND THERMAL SYSTEM FOR HEAT TRANSFER AND THERMAL SYSTEM FOR

Effect of spectral-selectivity on the performance of thermochemical cycling driven by concentrated solar energy

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Abstract

Splitting H₂O or CO₂ via solar-driven thermochemical redox cycles is important for solar fuel production. Since the reactor chamber temperature in thermochemical redox cycles is much lower than the surface temperature of the sun, secondary radiation from the reactor chamber to the ambient can be suppressed by spectral-selective transmissive coatings. These significantly reduce the irreversible losses, improve the solar thermal collection efficiency, and reduce the solar thermal collection cost. The cutoff wavelength is a key characteristic parameter of spectral-selective transmissive coatings which significantly affect the thermochemical performance of solar-driven thermochemical cycling. This study investigates the effect of the spectral-selective transmissive coatings on the solar-to-fuel efficiency based on experimental data for thermochemical splitting of CO₂ using reticulated porous ceria. This work also discusses the economic impact of the spectral-selective transmissive coatings on the solar thermal collector cost. The results show that for a solar-driven thermochemical redox cycle with a high temperature of 1 773 K, the optimal cutoff wavelength is 1 350 nm, which coincides with the steam and CO₂ absorption peaks in the solar spectrum (AM1.5). Spectral-selective transmissive coatings can increase the theoretical solar thermal collection efficiency of a blackbody cavity by 34.7%~85.2% and can significantly enhance the upper limit of the solar-to-fuel energy efficiency. The coatings can reduce the reduction half-reaction heating time by 13.7% and radiation losses by 36.7%. Finally, this work analyzes the economic impact of the spectral-selective transmissive coating on the solar thermal collector cost. The spectral-selective transmissive coatings can effectively reduce the solar thermal collector cost when the unit cost of the spectral-selective transmissive coatings is 330 times less than the cost of a dish concentrator.

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concentrated solar energy / thermochemical cycle / spectral-selective transmissive coating / solar fuel / efficiency

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LIN Pengzhu, LOU Jiahui, LI Jianlan, HAO Yong. Effect of spectral-selectivity on the performance of thermochemical cycling driven by concentrated solar energy[J]. Journal of Tsinghua University(Science and Technology). 2021, 61(12): 1389-1396 https://doi.org/10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2020.25.038

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