A Novel Solar Cavity Receiver Design for High-Efficiency Hydrogen Production Using the Sulfur-Iodine Thermochemical Cycle
- 1Cranfield University
Abstract
Hydrogen is increasingly recognised as a cornerstone of future clean energy systems, yet its large-scale production remains constrained by efficiency and sustainability challenges. Concentrated solar power (CSP) coupled with thermochemical water-splitting cycles offers a promising solution, with the Sulfur–Iodine (S–I) cycle standing out due to its high theoretical efficiency and full water-splitting capability. This study aims to design and assess a solar cavity receiver integrated with the S–I cycle for efficient hydrogen generation. CFD simulations in ANSYS Fluent were employed to evaluate receiver performance, achieving an outlet air temperature of 1405 K at a mass flow rate of 0.00285 kg/s and a thermal efficiency of 80%. The absorbed heat was subsequently coupled with an Aspen Plus model of the S–I cycle. Scaling the system to ten parabolic dish collectors resulted in a hydrogen output of 0.75 kg/h and an overall efficiency of 57.7%. Model validation against published experimental data confirmed the robustness of the approach. These results highlight the potential of optimised cavity receivers in advancing CSP-driven thermochemical hydrogen production.
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BibTeX
@article{aldubayyan2026novel,
title = {{A Novel Solar Cavity Receiver Design for High-Efficiency Hydrogen Production Using the Sulfur-Iodine Thermochemical Cycle}},
author = {Ahmed Aldubayyan and Abdullah Ayed Alrwili and Khalifa Aliyu Ibrahim and Qing Qin and Seyed Ali Nabavi and Yousef Lafi Alshammari and Zhenhua Luo},
journal = {SolarPACES Conference Proceedings},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.52825/solarpaces.v4i.2987},
url = {https://doi.org/10.52825/solarpaces.v4i.2987},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A Novel Solar Cavity Receiver Design for High-Efficiency Hydrogen Production Using the Sulfur-Iodine Thermochemical Cycle
AU - Ahmed Aldubayyan
AU - Abdullah Ayed Alrwili
AU - Khalifa Aliyu Ibrahim
AU - Qing Qin
AU - Seyed Ali Nabavi
AU - Yousef Lafi Alshammari
AU - Zhenhua Luo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
JO - SolarPACES Conference Proceedings
DO - 10.52825/solarpaces.v4i.2987
UR - https://doi.org/10.52825/solarpaces.v4i.2987
AB - Hydrogen is increasingly recognised as a cornerstone of future clean energy systems, yet its large-scale production remains constrained by efficiency and sustainability challenges. Concentrated solar power (CSP) coupled with thermochemical water-splitting cycles offers a promising solution, with the Sulfur–Iodine (S–I) cycle standing out due to its high theoretical efficiency and full water-splitting capability. This study aims to design and assess a solar cavity receiver integrated with the S–I cycle for efficient hydrogen generation. CFD simulations in ANSYS Fluent were employed to evaluate receiver performance, achieving an outlet air temperature of 1405 K at a mass flow rate of 0.00285 kg/s and a thermal efficiency of 80%. The absorbed heat was subsequently coupled with an Aspen Plus model of the S–I cycle. Scaling the system to ten parabolic dish collectors resulted in a hydrogen output of 0.75 kg/h and an overall efficiency of 57.7%. Model validation against published experimental data confirmed the robustness of the approach. These results highlight the potential of optimised cavity receivers in advancing CSP-driven thermochemical hydrogen production.
SN - 2751-9899
ER -