Continuous CuCl<sub>2</sub> Hydrolysis in the Six-Step\nCu–Cl Thermochemical Cycle for Green Hydrogen Production

Thermochemical production of green hydrogen by using\na closed loop\nCu–Cl cycle has been established by us and is patented. This\narticle outlines a noncatalytic reaction of cupric chloride with steam\nin a continuous reactor as part of our ongoing research on the ICT-OEC\ncopper–chlorine (Cu–Cl) cycle for thermochemical hydrogen\ngeneration. The kinetics of the hydrolysis reaction of cupric chloride\nto copper oxide was examined by the effect of different operating\nparameters such as the mole ratio of steam to cupric chloride, the\nreaction temperature, the particle size of CuCl<sub>2</sub>, and time\non stream study. The product, copper oxide, was well characterized\nusing different techniques. The chemical and XRD analysis of the product\ncompositions revealed the optimum Steam to CuCl<sub>2</sub> molar\nratio. After the optimization, product conversion and selectivity\nare 76.7% and 99.07%, respectively. Based on the kinetics on a mini-pilot\nscale, possible explanations are suggested. Reactors in a series system\nreduce the steam requirements as a result increase the HCl concentration\nin the final product. The energy demand is notably reduced from 1.169\nto 0.0653 kW when utilizing reactors in a series configuration with\nheat recovery, which was simulated using Aspen Plus software. The\nfindings are useful in scaling up equipment in the thermochemical\nCu–Cl cycle for hydrogen production.