Design study of pilot test plant for hydrogen production by thermo-chemical water splitting IS process

Iwatsuki, Jin ; Terada, Atsuhiko  ; Noguchi, Hiroki  ; Kanagawa, Akihiro; Ijichi, Masanori; Kasahara, Seiji  ; Kubo, Shinji  ; Sakaba, Nariaki ; Onuki, Kaoru; Hino, Ryutaro

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducting the HTTR (High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor) project from the view to establishing technology base on HTGR and also on the IS process. In JAEA, continuous hydrogen production was demonstrated with the hydrogen production rate of about 30 NL/hr for one week using a bench-scale test apparatus made of glass. Based on the test results and know-how obtained through the bench-scale tests, a pilot test plant that can produce hydrogen of about 30 Nm/hr is being designed. The test plant will be fabricated with industrial materials such as glass coated steel, SiC ceramics etc, and operated under high pressure condition up to 2 MPa. In parallel to the design study, key components of the IS process have been designed and test-fabricated to confirm their fabricability. Also, other R&D's are under way such as steady state simulation of pilot system, corrosion resistant seal and piping technology. This paper describes present status of these activities.