Feasibility of hydrogen production above 2500 K by direct thermal decomposition reaction in membrane reactor using solar energy

The hydrogen production from thermal decomposition of water in the plug flow and isothermal-type reactor with membrane having the Knudsen diffusion characteristic was investigated by a mathematical model based on the equilibrium reaction above 2500 K. This analysis predicts a certain length to obtain the maximum hydrogen yield and the sensitivity of reaction conditions to the yield. The effect of the membrane reactor configuration, plug flow reactor (PFR) and complete stirred tank reactor (CSTR) which have been studied previously, to the hydrogen yield is also analyzed. Independent of reaction conditions such as temperature and pressure, hydrogen yield of PFR-type membrane reactor is about 1.5 times larger than that of CSTR-type membrane reactor.