Max Gorensek, PhD, PE

1
Feasibility of Hydrogen Production Using Laser
IFE as the Primary Energy Source

• Max Gorensek, PhD, PE
• Senior Fellow Engineer
• Computational and Statistical Science
• 16th HAPL Workshop
• Princeton, NJ
• December 12-13, 2006

2
National Security Demands Energy Security

• The U.S. imports more than 50 of its crude oil
  and is expected to import more than 60 by 2010.
• U.S. consumers pay foreign countries over three
  billion dollars a week to satisfy the demand for
  imported oil.
• Much of our oil is imported from politically
  unstable areas of the world.

Photo oil fire in Kuwait following Desert Storm
3
Oil Production Will Peak Before Mid-Century
Source US (DOE) Energy Information
Administration
4
Fossil Fuels Have an Inherent Problem
Source The White House Initiative on Global
Climate Change, Barnola et al.
5
Atmospheric CO2 Concentration Is Growing
Source Climate Change 2001The Scientific Basis,
Contribution of Working Group I to the Third
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change.
6
and Could Double Pre-Industrial Level By 2100
Source United Nations Environment Programme /
GRID-Arendal
7
A Hydrogen Economy Is Part of the Solution

• Broad-based use of hydrogen as a fuel
• Energy carrier analogous to electricity
• Produced from variety of primary energy sources
• Can serve all sectors of the economy
  transportation, power, industry and buildings
• Replaces oil and natural gas as an end-use fuel
• Makes renewable and nuclear energy portable
• Advantages
• Inexhaustible
• Clean
• Universally available to all countries

8
Hydrogen Can Be Made from a Variety of Domestic
Energy Resources
Source US DOE
9
A Hydrogen Economy Will Need a Lot of Hydrogen

• H2 demand for all U.S. light-duty vehicles 110
  MMt/yr by 2050
• 12-fold increase over current (industrial) use
• Power content 450 GWth (current average US
  electricity demand 450 GWe)
• Other applications could double H2 demand
• Energy for H2 production would be similar to
  energy for electric power generation, will
  require multiple primary sources
• Fossil fuels with CO2 sequestration
• Renewable energy with electrolysis
• Nuclear water-splitting

The Hydrogen Economy Opportunities, Costs,
Barriers, and RD Needs, National Academy of
Engineering (2004).
10
Current Industrial Hydrogen Market Is
AlreadySignificant

• World hydrogen consumption is 42 MMtons/yr
• Major users are refineries and fertilizer
  (ammonia) plants
• Represents 200 GWth of power (5.7 Quad)
• U.S. production is 9 MMtons/yr
• 1.1 of primary energy (5 of U.S. natural gas
  usage)
• Sufficient to power 60 million fuel cell vehicles
• Equals energy output of 40 nuclear power plants
• Rapidly growing hydrogen demand in refineries to
  process heavier, higher sulfur crude oils
• Development of tar sands and oil shale will
  require additional hydrogen

11
Nuclear Hydrogen Future
DOE-NEs Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative actively
supporting development of H2 production technology
Centralized Nuclear Hydrogen Production Plant
O2
Industrial H2 Users
High Capacity Pipeline
Heat
Hydrogen Fueled Future
Thermochemical Process H2O ? H2 ½ O2
Modular Helium Reactor (850 to 1,000C)
Time of Day/Month H2 Storage
Transport Fuel
Distributed Power
Could easily substitute Laser-IFE (or other
fusion energy device) for VHTR
12
Big Dumb Laser IFE Chamber Concept

• Tungsten-armored ferritic steel first wall
• Molten lithium self-cooled blanket
• Maximum radius 6.5 m
• Twelve side blanket modules
• Separate upper and lower blankets
• Coolant connections at bottom
• Vacuum vessel supports blanket modules

Sviatoslavsky, I.N et al., Fusion Science
Techn., 47(3), 535 (2005).
13
Lithium Self-Cooled Blanket Concept Parameters
Sviatoslavsky, I.N et al., Fusion Science
Techn., 47(3), 535 (2005).
14
Laser IFE with Magnetic Diversion Concept

• SiC first wall (Tmax 1,000C)
• Liquid Pb-17Li self-cooled blanket (Pb-Li/SiC
  interface Tmax 1,000C)
• Magnetic diversion mitigates first wall ionic
  bombardment
• Cusp-shaped magnetic field diverts ions to
  collectors
• gt90 of ion energy resistively dissipated in SiC
  structure (cant use metal structure)
• lt10 of ion energy deposited in collectors

Graphic Courtesy A.R. Raffray, University of
California, San Diego
15
Magnetic Diversion Chamber Concept
Courtesy G. Sviatoslavsky, University of Wisconsin
16
Magnetic Diversion Concept Blanket Parameters
A.R. Raffray et al., 15th HAPL Program Workshop,
La Jolla, CA, August 9, 2006
17
HAPL Blanket Development Summary

• Detailed conceptual design of W-armored, FS
  chamber with liquid Li self-cooled blanket
  completed
• Conceptual design of SiCf/SiC chamber with
  magnetic diversion underway
• Pb-17Li and Flibe self-cooled blankets considered
• Outlet temperatures up to 930C calculated for
  Pb-17Li
• Current work at UCSD suggests outlet temperatures
  as high as 1,100C may be possible with Pb-17Li
• Helium-cooled, dual-cooled blanket concepts will
  be considered
• Blanket development has been focused on power
  production
• High temperature, low pressure blankets hold
  promise for water-splitting applications to make
  hydrogen

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Water Splitting Options Using Laser IFE Heat
H2O(l) ? H2(g) ½O2(g) ?Hrxn 285.7 MJ/kmol

• Conventional Electrolysis
• Thermal Energy ? Electricity ? Hydrogen
• ?HHV 24 (LWR), 36 (HTGR), 40 (Laser-IFE?)
• High Temperature Steam Electrolysis
• Uses both heat and electricity
• ?HHV 45-55
• Thermochemical Water-splitting
• Direct heat to chemical energy conversion
• ?HHV 45-60

? ?H(H2)/QIFE
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Conventional Electrolysis
H2O (l) ? ½O2 (g) 2H 2e-
2H 2e- ? H2 (g)
20
Conventional Electrolysis
CCGT generating efficiency for Laser IFE up to
57 (MWe/MWth)
Typical electrolysis efficiency is 75 (HHV
H2/MWe)
Combined efficiency no more than 42 (HHV H2/MWth)
21
High Temperature Electrolysis

• Raising temperature of electrolysis reaction
  decreases cell potential (work requirement).
• Basis for High Temperature Electrolysis

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High Temperature Steam Electrolysis
Source US DOE-NE, Nuclear Hydrogen RD Plan,
March 2004
23
Steam Electrolysis

• Electrolysis reactions
• H2O(g) 2 e ? H2(g) O cathode reaction
• O ? ½ O2(g) 2 e anode reaction
• H2O(g) ? H2(g) ½ O2(g) net reaction
• O is the charge carrier in the ceramic
  electrolyte (solid oxide, typically
  yttria-stabilized zirconia)

24
Simplified Flowsheet of Laser IFE-driven High
Temperature Steam Electrolysis Process
Adapted from US DOE-NE, Nuclear Hydrogen RD
Plan, March 2004
25
Thermochemical Water-splitting

• What is a thermochemical cycle?
• Chemical process
• Series of chemical reactions that combine to
  split water
• All intermediate reactants regenerated
• True thermochemical cycles use only heat to drive
  process
• Hybrid cycles use both heat and electricity
• Extensively studied from mid 1970s to early 1980s
• Hundreds have been proposed
• At least 115 reported in the literature

26
The Sulfur Family of Thermochemical Cycles
Source US DOE-NE, Nuclear Hydrogen RD Plan,
March 2004
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Hybrid Sulfur (HyS) Hybrid Cycle for
Production of H2
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HyS Cycle Simplified Flowsheet
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SRNL Electrolyzer Configuration

• Nafion or other proton exchange membrane
• Gas diffusion carbon electrodes
• Membrane electrode assembly (MEA) construction
• Porous carbon flow fields
• Recirculating acid anolyte
• No catholyte needed

30
SRNL HyS Process Flowsheet
2-stage pressurized flash
3-stage vacuum flash
electrolyzer
acid decomposition loop
H2/water separation
single stage absorber
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Hydrogen Production Using Laser IFE

• SRNL white paper study for HAPL program
• Feasibility of concept
• Advantages over other H2 production methods
  (especially nuclear)
• Suitability of FTF for H2 production
  demonstration
• Self-cooled blanket temperatures overlap GenIV
  coolant temperatures most technology can be
  borrowed from NHI
• Same thermochemical and high temperature
  electrolytic methods as NHI
• Low coolant pressure, higher temperature range
  may provide advantage
• If Laser IFE being developed for power
  production, Laser IFE H2 production should also
  be considered
• Differences that will need further study
• Need for secondary coolant
• Heat source/ H2 plant separation
• Heat transfer at higher temperatures with molten
  salts

32
Net Thermal Efficiency Estimates for HAPL Blanket
Concepts
Enthalpy change between end product and starting
materials
Total heat requirement from primary energy source
Enthalpy change for water-splitting
33
Acknowledgements

• This work sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy
  under Contract No. DE-AC09-96SR18500
• Funding provided by the Naval Research Laboratory
  under the High Average Power Laser Program
• Dr. John D. Sethian
• Consultation
• Prof. A. René Raffray (University of California,
  San Diego)