Recent Advances in Nuclear Based Hydrogen Production With the Thermochemical Copper-Chlorine Cycle

Abstract

This paper presents a review of recent advances in nuclear-based hydrogen production with a thermochemical copper-chlorine cycle. Growing attention has focused on thermochemical water decomposition as a promising alternative to steam-methane reforming for a sustainable future method of large-scale hydrogen production. Recent advances in specific processes within the Cu–Cl cycle will be presented, particularly for overall heat requirements of the cycle, preferred configurations of the oxygen cell, disposal of molten salt, electrochemical process of copper electrowinning, and safety/reliability assessment of the systems. An energy balance for each individual process is formulated and results are presented for heat requirements of the processes.