Highly active and stable copper ferrite supported on ?-SiC foam for decomposition of SO3 in the Sulfur-Iodine cycle for H2 production

To develop a highly active, stable, and economical catalytic system for gas-phase SO3 reduction in the Sulfur-Iodine cycle is essential to implement the process at large scale. b -SiC foam supported copper ferrite was synthesized, and characterized by different cutting edge techniques such as XRD, FT-IR, TGA, BET, XPS, TEM, HR-TEM, FESEM-EDS and elemental mapping. The conversion of SO3 was evaluated in the temperature range of 800 -900 degrees C, and at 8.1 h-1 WHSV. The stability test, 300 h time-on-stream, was conducted at 850 degrees C and 8.1 h-1 WHSV. Furthermore, pressure drop, heat transfer coefficients, and mass transfer coefficients were evaluated in a packed bed reactor and based on the obtained results a comparative study was performed between copper ferrite supported on b-SiC foam and the pelletized catalyst. In this extremely endothermic and corrosive reaction, b -SiC foam supported copper ferrite has displayed remarkable catalytic performance. (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Developing an active, stable, and cost-effective catalytic system for gas-phase SO3 reduction in the Sulfur-Iodine cycle is crucial for large-scale implementation. A copper ferrite catalyst supported on b-SiC foam was synthesized and characterized using various techniques. The conversion of SO3 was evaluated at temperatures of 800-900°C and a WHSV (weight hourly space velocity) of 8.1 h-1. Stability tests were conducted for 300 hours at 850°C and 8.1 h-1 WHSV. The catalytic performance of the b-SiC foam supported copper ferrite catalyst was found to be excellent in this highly endothermic and corrosive reaction.