Integrated coal power plant and Cu–Cl water splitting cycle for greenhouse gases reduction

In this chapter, a pulverized coal-fired power plant is integrated with a hydrogen-producing Copper–Chlorine (Cu–Cl) thermochemical cycle for emission reduction of greenhouse gases and cogeneration of hydrogen and electricity. A new furnace design is developed wherein low pressure steam at 900 K is generated as well as high pressure steam at 800 K. The low pressure steam is used to transfer heat to the Cu–Cl cycle for the endothermic high temperature reactors of hydrolysis and thermolysis. The chapter analyzes the system integration and performance in terms of efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of generated hydrogen. The specific carbon emissions are compared with a gasification system and with an integrated system of a nuclear supercritical water cooled reactor (SCWR) and Cu–Cl cycle. Although the SCWR system has a lower carbon footprint, the coal-based hydrogen system is thermodynamically more efficient. Also, the hydrogen generation efficiency with an integrated coal power plant and Cu–Cl cycle is compared to hydrogen production from coal gasification. It is found that the integrated system is less efficient but has more than 50 % less carbon footprint.