Thermodynamics of CeO2 Thermochemical Fuel Production

In this work the thermodynamics of thermochemical fuel production using a CeO2 redox cycle are studied. The need to reduce the oxygen partial pressure in order to improve efficiency is investigated, with both sweep gas and vacuum pumping considered as methods of achieving this. At ambient pressure the cycles can be maximized with respect to the temperature swing, the minimum oxygen partial pressure, and the extent of the oxidation reaction. For reduction at 1500 °C the maximum efficiency was found to be 4.5%, which is significantly lower than the values found in previous studies. In addition isothermal operation had very low efficiency (less than 2%) under all of the conditions considered. If the system is operated at lower than ambient pressure, the pumping efficiency will depend on the pressure. From an investigation of commercially available pumps the pressure dependence was given an analytical expression. The results showed the cycles have an optimal operating pressure and that using sweep gas, as wel...