We are now designing a first small-scale version of the photoreactor. This first version will be able to accommodate active photocatalytic sheets of ~5 cm2 and will allow us to test the feasibility of our process before scaling it up to 500 cm2.
In the pictures below, a purple solution is circulated through the photoreactor to demonstrate that the device is water- tight under operation.
Recovering H2 from the photoreactor is critical to measurement the sun-to-hydrogen yield properly. Since H2 is a very light gas prone to leaks, the photoreactor prototype must be checked for tightness
Towards this end, bubbles are created to mimick the foreseen hydrogen production and check that the whole system is gas-tight.
Experiments are carried out to optimize gas bubbles collection at the top of the device before the gas is separated from the solution in a specific gas-liquid separator component.
This first achievement paves the way towards showcasing the feasibility and scalability of the PH2OTOGEN technology at 5% efficiency over 500 hours in a 500 cm² prototype
Vincent Artero, Director of the Metals Chemistry and Biology Laboratory, Deputy Head of the DIESE Department at the IRIG Institute, CEA/Grenoble