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On behalf of Professor Jeff Bergthorson, the invites you to a free talk by Aldo Steinfeld (ETH Zurich)ÌýSeminar Abstract:

The entire production chain for renewable kerosene obtained directly from sunlight, H2O, and CO2 has been experimentally demonstrated. The key component of the production process is a high-temperature solar reactor containing a reticulated porous ceramic (RPC) structure made of ceria, which enables the splitting of H2O and CO2 via a 2-step thermochemical redox cycle. In the 1st endothermic reduction step, ceria is thermally reduced using concentrated solar radiation as the energy source of process heat. In the 2nd exothermic oxidation step, nonstoichiometric ceria reacts with H2O and CO2 to form H2 and CO – syngas – which is finally converted into kerosene by the Fischer-Tropsch process. The RPC features dual-scale porosity for enhanced heat and mass transfer: mm-size pores for volumetric radiation absorption during the reduction step and µm-size pores within its struts for fast kinetics during the oxidation step. We report on the engineering design of the 4 kW solar reactor and the experimental demonstration of 290 consecutive redox cycles for producing high-quality syngas suitable for the processing of liquid hydrocarbon fuels. We further evaluate alternative materials, e.g. doped ceria and perovskites, for improved redox performance.

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