Solar Hybrid H2 Production from Fossil Fuels (Natural Gas, Coal) and Concentrated Solar Thermal Energy

摘要

This paper describes the economical feasibility of the solar hybrid production systemscompared with the POX (partial oxidation) process of natural gas. For Japan, the overseaproduction of solar hybrid methanol from natural gas in sun belt is one of the feasible waysfor providing H2 fuel in Japan. The economical burden for reduction of the CO2 emission(carbon tax and CO2 recovery cost) will facilitate the solar hybrid H2 production whose costis competitive with the methanol produced by POX. The total reactions of thecombined-process of the two step water splitting process (H2O = H2 + 1/2O2) usingconcentrated solar thermal energy and the natural gas reforming by POX (or O2-blwoing coalgasification) can be written by the endothermic reaction equation of steam reforming or steamgasification (CH4 + H2O = CO + 3H2, or C + H2O = CO + H2). This system can upgrade thefossil fuels (natural gas and coal) by the concentrated solar thermal energy, and eventuallycan convert to the H2 fuels (solar hybrid H2 fuel). As a more economically feasible systemfor the solar hybrid H2 fuel production, we have proposed the combined-process of the steamreforming using concentrated solar thermal energy with the auto-thermal process(AT-process) (combined-process of Solar Steam Reforming and AT-process; SSR-ATcombined-process).