The cerium(IV) oxide窶田erium(III) oxide cycle or CeO2/Ce2O3 cycle is a two-step thermochemical process that employs cerium(IV) oxide and cerium(III) oxide for hydrogen production. [1] The cerium-based cycle allows the separation of H2 and O2 in two steps, making high-temperature gas separation redundant.
The thermochemical two-step water splitting process ( thermochemical cycle) uses redox systems: [2]
For the first endothermic step, cerium(IV) oxide is thermally dissociated in an inert gas atmosphere at 2,000 ツーC (3,630 ツーF) and 100-200 mbar into cerium(III) oxide and oxygen. In the second exothermic step cerium(III) oxide reacts at 400 ツーC (752 ツーF)窶600 ツーC (1,112 ツーF) in a fixed bed reactor with water and produces hydrogen and cerium(IV) oxide.