HYDROGEN PRODUCTION USING THE Cu-Cl THERMOCHEMICAL CYCLE IN A ZERO
EMISSIONS COAL-TO-LIQUIDS PLANT
Open Access
Author:
Myers, Kaitlin Elizabeth
Area of Honors:
Energy Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Harold Harris Schobert, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Harold Harris Schobert, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Sarma V Pisupati, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
coal-to-liquids hydrogen production
Abstract:
Coal-to-liquids has the potential to change the nation’s energy economy due to its use of coal, a
domestic resource. What is even more exciting is that coal-to-liquids has the potential to release
zero emissions of CO2. This possibility is attractive, especially with the reality of climate change and the ever-increasing pressure to produce environmentally friendly technologies, processes,
and products in all sectors. This zero-emission coal-to-liquids concept was developed at Penn
State. A start-up company, CoalStar, picked up this idea and is in the early planning stages of
actually implementing such a plant.
A major concern for CoalStar is the production of hydrogen used for refining purposes in the
plant. They are considering using an electrolyzer exclusively powered by clean electricity. Due
to its required low electricity input as compared to other thermochemical cycles, the Cu-Cl
thermochemical cycle has the potential to fill the need for electrolytically produced hydrogen in
this coal-to-liquids plant. Much research is currently being performed on this cycle; this thesis examines a few parameters of the system and their effects on hydrogen production rate. These
parameters are: the type of membrane used, the HCl concentration of the anolyte, and membrane
degradation due to time. Furthermore, the actual feasibility of implementing such a cycle into
CoalStar’s hypothetical plant is examined.
