Stoichiometric studies of H2 generation reaction for H2O/Zn/Fe3O4 system

Water splitting with H2O/Zn/Fe3O4 reaction system is suggested for H-2 generation in order to utilize concentrated solar heat. This system has the possibility of generating more H-2 per 1 mol of Zn than Zn/H2O reaction system at the same temperature, which is noted recently. When a mixture of Zn and FC3O4 was heated to 873 K and steam was passed through, H-2 was obtained in 93.4% of the theoretical yield. The formation of Zn-ferrites with high content of zinc (ZnxFe3-xO4; 0.2 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 1) and ZnO was determined by XRD and Mossbauer spectroscopy. The yield of ZnO was 26-29%, which shows that the ratio of the competition-reaction (Zn/H2O system) has less effects on the total H-2 yield. The stoichiometry and the reaction mechanism of the system are discussed upon the analyses for the solid product. (C) 2001 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.