Nuclear-based hydrogen production with a thermochemical copper-chlorine cycle and supercritical water reactor: equipment scale-up and process simulation

Issues related to equipment scale-up and process simulation are described for a thermochemical cycle driven by nuclear heat from Canada's proposed Generation IV reactor (Super-Critical Water-Cooled Reactor; SCWR), which is a CANDU derivative using supercritical water cooling. The copper–chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle has been identified by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited as the most promising cycle for thermochemical hydrogen production with SCWR. Water is decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen through intermediate Cu-Cl compounds. This article outlines the challenges and design issues of hydrogen production with a Cu-Cl cycle coupled to Canada's nuclear reactors. The processes are simulated using the Aspen Plus process simulation code, allowing the cycle efficiency and possible efficiency improvements to be examined. The results are useful to assist the development of a lab-scale cycle demonstration, which is currently being undertaken at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in collaboration with numerous partners.