We investigate the efficiency of power generation by thermochemical engines. For strong coupling between the particle and heat flows and in the presence of a left-right symmetry in the system, we demonstrate that the efficiency at maximum power displays universality up to quadratic order in the deviation from equilibrium. A maser model is presented to illustrate our argument.

recent developments in hydrogen production by thermochemical water decomposition are reported,with an emphasis on hydrogen production from non-fossil energy sources such as nuclear and solar. numerousdevelopments have been made on sulphur-iodine, copper-chlorine and other thermochemicalcycles. efforts are described to lower the temperatures required in thermochemical cycles, so as to broadenthe...

We calculate the thermochemical equilibrium of the diffuse interstellar medium, including ionization by a photon flux Fν from neutrino decay. The main heating mechanism considered is photoelectrons from grains and PAHs. For the studied range of Fν values, there always exists two regions of stability (a warm and a cold phase) that can coexist in equilibrium if the thermal interstellar pressure i...

Chemical kinetics plays an important role in controlling the atmospheric composition of all planetary atmospheres, including those of extrasolar planets. For the hottest exoplanets, the composition can closely follow thermochemical-equilibrium predictions, at least in the visible and infrared photosphere at dayside (eclipse) conditions. However, for atmospheric temperatures approximately <2000K...

Hydration reactions of sodiated and potassiated nucleic acid bases (uracil, thymine, cytosine, and adenine) produced by electrospray have been studied in a gas phase using the pulsed ion-beam high-pressure mass spectrometer. The thermochemical properties, ΔH(o)(n), ΔS(o)(n), and ΔG(o)(n), for the hydrated systems were obtained from hydration equilibrium measurement. The structural aspects of th...

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics (NET) investigates processes in systems out of global equilibrium. On a mesoscopic level, it provides a statistical dynamic description of various complex phenomena such as chemical reactions, ion transport, diffusion, thermochemical, thermomechanical and mechanochemical fluxes. In the present review, we introduce a mesoscopic stochastic formulation of NET by analy...

Chloramines, bromamines, and bromochloramines are halogen-containing oxidants that arise from the reaction of hypohalous acids with ammonia in water. Although relevant to both water disinfection chemistry and biochemistry, these molecules are difficult to study in the laboratory, and their thermochemical properties remain poorly established. We developed a benchmark level ab initio calculation ...

We present a comprehensive thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of the suitability of cerium oxide (ceria) for thermochemical fuel production. Both portions of the two-step cycle, (i) oxygen release from the oxide at 1773 and 1873 K under inert atmosphere, and (ii) hydrogen release upon hydrolysis at 1073 K, are examined theoretically as well as experimentally. We observe gravimetric fuel product...