Solar thermal decoupled water electrolysis process I: Proof of concept

A new concept for a solar thermal electrolytic process was developed for the production of H-2 from water. A metal oxide is reduced to a lower oxidation state in air with concentrated solar energy. The reduced oxide is then used either as an anode or solute for the electrolytic production of H-2 in either an aqueous acid or base solution. The presence of the reduced metal oxide as part of the electrolytic cell decreases the potential required for water electrolysis below the ideal 1.23 V required when H-2 and O-2 evolve at 1 bar and 298 K. During electrolysis, H-2 evolves at the cathode at 1 bar while the reduced metal oxide is returned to its original oxidation state, thus completing the H-2 production cycle. Ideal sunlight-to-hydrogen thermal efficiencies were established for three oxide systems: Fe2O3-Fe3O4, Co3O4-CoO, and Mn2O3-Mn3O4. The ideal efficiencies that include radiation heat loss are as high or higher than corresponding ideal values reported in the solar thermal chemistry literature. An exploratory experimental study for the iron oxide system confirmed that the electrolytic and thermal reduction steps occur in a laboratory scale environment.

The Effect on Financial Reporting Quality of an Exemption From the SEC Reporting Requirements for Foreign Private Issuers

We test for differences in financial reporting quality between companies that are required to file periodically with the SEC and those that are exempted from filing reports with the SEC under Rule 12g3-2(b). We examine three earnings quality measures: conservatism, abnormal accruals, and the predictability of earnings. Our results, for all three measures, show different financial reporting quality for companies that file with the SEC than for companies exempt from filing requirements. This paper provides empirical evidence of a link between filing with the SEC and financial reporting quality for foreign firms.