Alternative Developments Hydrogen Production

The JAEA selects the IS-process to be the basis for commercial development mainly because it is seen more suited to large-scale nuclear hydrogen production than HTE [9] and other alternatives. However, an available HTE-based plant can be connected to the reactor in the same manner as the IS process plant is connected. The HTE similarly requires a high-temperature process heat, and about 25% of its total energy input is heat and the balance electricity, which are fully and efficiently met in-house by the reactor heat and gas turbine power plant. 

The demand for hydrogen, driven by classical applications such as fertilisers or oil refining as well as new applications (synthetic fuels, fuel cells,...) is growing significantly. Presently, most of the hydrogen produced in the world uses methane or another /ossil feedstock, which is not a sustainable option, given the limited fossil resources and need to reduce C02 emissions. This stimulates the need to develop alternative processes of production which do not suffer from these drawbacks. 

To improve the intrinsic economics of nuclear electrolysis, in the long term, hydrogen production by high-temperature electrolysis coupled with high-temperature nuclear reactors is an attractive alternative option. Today, high-temperature electrolysis is at an early stage of development, see Figure 5. Size... 

The aim of the Greek test site was to study the possibility for hydrogen to become an alternative product for wind-park developers, in case electricity transmission lines are saturated, studying at the same time the performance of hydrogen production and storage technologies under variable power input. 

Current commercial processes for syngas and H2 production largely depends on fossil fuels both as the source of hydrogen and as the source of energy for the production processing.4 Fossil fuels are nonrenewable energy resources, but they provide a more economical path to hydrogen production in the near term (next 5-20 years) and perhaps they will continue to play an important role in the midterm (20-50 years from now). Alternative processes need to be developed that do not... 

Another feature to be improved in bacterial hydrogen production is the expansion of the biomass which can be used, At the moment, glucose or some or nic acid are utilized for bacterial hydrogen production. Since the major lignolytic compound is xylose, the development of an alternative metabolic pathway or microorganisms which can produce hydrogen from xylose is expected. 

R D for a nuclear hydrogen production technology development focuses on the development of an advanced SI thermochemical cycle as a baseline cycle and the evaluation of alternative cycles such as a high temperature electrolysis and the new technologies to be introduced continuously. Alternative cycles could be identified which have potential advantages in efficiency, cost, and process simplicity. 

---