Thermodynamic Analysis of CO₂ Reduction in the SnO₂/SnO Solar Thermochemical Cycle

CO₂ utilization for the production of valuable chemical products may help mitigate two global problems: increasing CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere and depleting petroleum resources. Solar thermochemical cycles for CO₂ splitting provide relatively high efficiencies of solar energy conversion while operating at realistic temperatures. In the present paper, the cycles proposed previously are reviewed and a novel cycle, based on SnO₂/SnO redox reactions, is proposed. The results of thermodynamic calculations for the CO₂ reduction step in this cycle are reported.