DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OF IS PROCESS PILOT TEST PLANT FOR HYDROGEN PRODUCTION WITH HIGH-TEMPERATURE GAS-COOLED REACTOR

摘要

At the present time, we are alarmed by depletion of fossil energy and effects on global environment such as acid rain and global warming, because our lives depend still heavily on fossil energy. So, it is universally recognized that hydrogen is one of the best energy media and its demand will be increased greatly in the near future. In Japan, the Basic Plan for Energy Supply and Demand based on the Basic Law on Energy Policy Making was decided upon by the Cabinet on 6 October, 2003. In the plan, efforts for hydrogen energy utilization were expressed as follows; hydrogen is a clean energy carrier without carbon dioxide (CO_2) emission, and commercialization of hydrogen production system using nuclear, solar and biomass, not fossil fuels, is desired.rnHowever, it is necessary to develop suitable technology to produce hydrogen without CO_2 emission from a view point of global environmental protection, since little hydrogen exists naturally. Hydrogen production from water using nuclear energy, especially the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), is one of the most attractive solutions for the environmental issue, because HTGR hydrogen production by water splitting methods such as a thermochemical iodine-sulfur (IS) process has a high possibility to produce hydrogen effectively and economically.