Shakedown of sulfuric acid flow test loop for thermo-chemical hydrogen production technology by IS process (Contract research)

JAEA has been conducting R and D on thermo-chemical water splitting hydrogen production technology by an iodine-sulfur cycle (IS process) aiming to establish the technology with high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). The IS process uses sulfuric acid as a process fluid, which is a very corrosive fluid. For development of the sulfuric-acid decomposer in the pilot plant, the sulfuric-acid flow test loop (SFTL) was constructed to obtain flow boiling characteristics, and to confirm applicability of components such as pipelines, pumps and instrumentations. The SFTL consists of a sulfuric-acid boiling heat transfer test loop and a high temperature component test loop, whose maximum flow rates are 2.5L/min and 20L/min, respectively. This report presents outline of the SFTL and shakedown test results. (author)