Development of the three-dimensional CFD analysis model of helium heat exchanger type steam reformer for hydrogen production by nuclear heat

Ishii, Katsunori; Ono, Masato; Noguchi, Hiroki; Shimizu, Atsushi; Nomoto, Yasunobu; Sato, Hiroyuki; Sakaba, Nariaki

Proceedings of World Hydrogen Technologies Convention 2025 (WHTC 2025) (Internet), p.26 - 28, 2025/10

https://www.whtc2025.com/conference-proceedings

Phase transitions and relaxor behavior of lead-free ferroelectric bismuth potassium titanate

Saito, Kotaro*; Matsuo, Hiroki*; Yoneda, Yasuhiro; Ye, Z.-G*; Noguchi, Yuji*

Journal of Applied Physics, 138(9), p.094102_1 - 094102_9, 2025/09

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0272995

Crystal structures and phase stability of antiferroelectric phases in undoped and Ca-modified sodium niobates

Aso, Seiyu*; Matsuo, Hiroki*; Yoneda, Yasuhiro; Morikawa, Daisuke*; Tsuda, Kenji*; Oyama, Kenji*; Ishigaki, Toru*; Noguchi, Yuji*

Physical Review B, 111(17), p.174114_1 - 174114_12, 2025/05

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.111.174114

We investigate the crystal structures, phase transitions, and phase stability of undoped and Ca-modified NaNbO through a combined analysis of high-resolution synchrotron radiation X-ray and neutron diffraction, convergent-beam electron diffraction, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is demonstrated that the antiferroelectric (AFE)- phase is stabilized over a wide temperature range of 200 to 800 K by Ca modification, and that the NaNbO is stabilized by temperature-driven isostatic pressure accompanied by lattice expansion, whereas the Ca-modified NaNbO is induced by composition-induced chemical pressure along with lattice shrinkage.

Estimation of H demand and HTGR development potential in the industrial complex in Japan

Noguchi, Hiroki; Ishii, Katsunori; Ono, Masato; Kasahara, Seiji; Sato, Hiroyuki; Sakaba, Nariaki

Proceedings of World Hydrogen Technology Convention 2025 (WHTC 2025) (Internet), p.50 - 52, 2025/00

Achieving carbon neutrality in Japan in 2050, hydrogen is expected to be used as an alternative to fossil fuels in the hard-to-abate sectors. In steelmaking, hydrogen-based reduction process has been developed as a substitute for the conventional blast furnace steelmaking process, which involves the reduction of iron ore by coke. In chemical industry, a novel olefin production process has been developed using hydrogen and CO, through methanol as an intermediate chemical. A large amount of hydrogen is required for these novel processes. Nuclear energy is well-suited to large-scale low-carbon hydrogen production. High temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) is a type of nuclear reactor featuring extraction of high temperature heat. The heat can be applicable to hydrogen production. This study predicts hydrogen demand in five industrial complexes in Japan in 2050 and estimates the potential for introducing HTGR to meet the demand. The introduction of HTGR could be a promising solution for decarbonizing industrial complexes due to their large-scale hydrogen supply capacity.

Developing an online composition prediction for an HI-I-HO system using deep neural network

Tanaka, Nobuyuki; Takegami, Hiroaki; Noguchi, Hiroki; Kamiji, Yu; Myagmarjav, O.; Ono, Masato; Sugimoto, Chihiro

Chemical Engineering Science, 299, p.120479_1 - 120479_11, 2024/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2024.120479

We developed a deep neural network method to predict the composition of the iodine-sulfur process of thermochemical water-splitting hydrogen production using measurable properties. Unlike conventional titration analysis, this approach allows a quick understanding of fluid composition, providing essential information for controlling operating conditions. This study focused on the HI-I-HO three-component system within the IS process. Using Gibbs phase rule, the DNN model was constructed using online measurable parameters, such as temperature, pressure, and density, as input conditions. The model was trained with experimental data, and the structural parameters were tuned. Composition prediction using actual trend data demonstrated good correlation with titration analysis measurements. Furthermore, the local interpretable model-agnostic explanations method was incorporated to gain insights into the significance of input parameters for compositions from the DNN model, providing valuable information on crucial parameters for effective composition control.

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR)

Noguchi, Hiroki; Sato, Hiroyuki; Nishihara, Tetsuo; Sakaba, Nariaki

Kagaku Kogaku, 88(5), p.211 - 214, 2024/05

High temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), one of the next-generation innovative reactors, has an inherent safety and can generate very high-temperature heat which can be used for various heat application including hydrogen production. In Japan, Green Growth Strategy for Carbon Neutrality in 2050 and Basic Policy for the Realization of GX state the promotion of technology development necessary for mass and low-cost carbon-free hydrogen production and development and construction of next-generation innovative reactors including the HTGR for the decarbonization of industrial sectors. Based on these policies, JAEA has been conducted the world's first hydrogen production test using nuclear heat from an HTGR, in addition to verifying the excellent safety features of HTGR, and has also started to study the construction of an HTGR demonstration reactor in cooperation with the industrial community. This paper shows the current status of R&D of HTGR in Japan.

Validation of evaluation model for analysis of steam reformer in HTGR hydrogen production plant

Ishii, Katsunori; Aoki, Takeshi; Isaka, Kazuyoshi; Noguchi, Hiroki; Shimizu, Atsushi; Sato, Hiroyuki

Proceedings of 30th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE30) (Internet), 9 Pages, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.1299/jsmeicone.2023.30.1074

Development plan for coupling technology between high temperature gas-cooled reactor HTTR and Hydrogen Production Facility, 2; Development plan for coupling equipment between HTTR and Hydrogen Production Facility

Mizuta, Naoki; Morita, Keisuke; Aoki, Takeshi; Okita, Shoichiro; Ishii, Katsunori; Kurahayashi, Kaoru; Yasuda, Takanori; Tanaka, Masato; Isaka, Kazuyoshi; Noguchi, Hiroki; et al.

Proceedings of 30th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE30) (Internet), 6 Pages, 2023/05

Solar thermochemical energy storage in elemental sulphur; Design, development and construction of a lab-scale sulphuric acid splitting reactor powered by hot ceramic particles

Thanda, V. K.*; Thomey, D.*; Mevien, L.*; Noguchi, Hiroki; Agrafiotis, C.*; Roeb, M.*; Sattler, C.*

AIP Conference Proceedings 2445, p.130008_1 - 130008_12, 2022/05

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0085888

A proof of concept sulfuric acid splitting/decomposition prototype driven by hot bauxite particles is designed and developed. The lab-scale test reactor is a novel counter-current flow shell-and-tube heat exchanger with particles on the shell side and sulfuric acid on the tube side with mass flow rates of 10 kg/h and 2 kg/h, respectively. A one-dimensional heat transfer model was developed based on correlations of the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient and particle bed heat transfer coefficient for sizing the shell-and-tube heat exchanger. A detailed study was carried out in order to choose suitable materials especially in the sulfuric acid inlet and evaporation section. A new concept of an electrically heated, continuously operated particle heating system was designed and developed to provide the splitting reactor with hot particles. Different cases were studied using a finite element method (FEM) analysis to qualify the particle heater and examine its thermo-mechanical stability.

Introduction of loop operating system to improve the stability of continuous hydrogen production for the thermochemical water-splitting iodine-sulfur process

Tanaka, Nobuyuki; Takegami, Hiroaki; Noguchi, Hiroki; Kamiji, Yu; Myagmarjav, O.; Kubo, Shinji

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(55), p.27891 - 27904, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.06.072

The thermochemical water-splitting iodine-sulfur (IS) process enables producing hydrogen. In a previous operation procedure, after the components of the unit operations were individually started, they were connected at the same time. However, it was challenging to stably interconnect the components. This study introduces a new loop operation, subdividing the process configuration into four sections before transferring the continuous operation. The proposed loop operation was validated analyzing the material and heat balances of each section. The calculated results showed that the material balances of respective loop sections were closed. The loop operation mode would transfer to the continuous operation by connect all sections. Regarding the switching of operation modes, the material and heat balance showed no or little difference, indicating that two operation modes could only be changed by switching the pipelines. Consequently, the loop sections could be individually operated to stabilize the IS process system, and the loop operation could be smoothly transferred to the continuous operation.