DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2010.0114. A thermochemical study of ceria: exploiting an old material for new modes of energy conversion and CO <sub>2</sub> mitigation

A thermochemical study of ceria: exploiting an old material for new modes of energy conversion and CO 2 mitigation

10.1098/rsta.2010.0114

Crossref journal-article

The Royal Society

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences (175)

Abstract

We present a comprehensive thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of the suitability of cerium oxide (ceria) for thermochemical fuel production. Both portions of the two-step cycle, (i) oxygen release from the oxide at 1773 and 1873 K under inert atmosphere, and (ii) hydrogen release upon hydrolysis at 1073 K, are examined theoretically as well as experimentally. We observe gravimetric fuel productivity that is in quantitative agreement with equilibrium, thermogravimetric studies of ceria. Despite the non-stoichiometric nature of the redox cycle, in which only a portion of the cerium atoms change their oxidation state, the fuel productivity of 8.5–11.8 ml of H 2 per gram of ceria is competitive with that of other solid-state thermochemical cycles currently under investigation. The fuel production rate, which is also highly attractive, at a rate of 4.6–6.2 ml of H 2 per minute per gram of ceria, is found to be limited by a surface-reaction step rather than by ambipolar bulk diffusion of oxygen through the solid ceria. An evaluation of the thermodynamic efficiency of the ceria-based thermochemical cycle suggests that, even in the absence of heat recovery, solar-to-fuel conversion efficiencies of 16 to 19 per cent can be achieved, assuming a suitable method for obtaining an inert atmosphere for the oxygen release step.

Bibliography

Chueh, W. C., & Haile, S. M. (2010). A thermochemical study of ceria: exploiting an old material for new modes of energy conversion and CO 2 mitigation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 368(1923), 3269â3294.

Authors 2

William C. Chueh (first)
Sossina M. Haile (additional)

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Dates

Type	When
Created	15 years, 2 months ago (June 21, 2010, 3:33 a.m.)
Deposited	4 years, 6 months ago (Feb. 18, 2021, 4 p.m.)
Indexed	6 days, 11 hours ago (Aug. 20, 2025, 9:14 a.m.)
Issued	15 years ago (July 28, 2010)
Published	15 years ago (July 28, 2010)
Published Online	15 years ago (July 28, 2010)
Published Print	15 years ago (July 28, 2010)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Chueh_2010, title={A thermochemical study of ceria: exploiting an old material for new modes of energy conversion and CO 2 mitigation}, volume={368}, ISSN={1471-2962}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0114}, DOI={10.1098/rsta.2010.0114}, number={1923}, journal={Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences}, publisher={The Royal Society}, author={Chueh, William C. and Haile, Sossina M.}, year={2010}, month=jul, pages={3269–3294} }

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