| Work Detail |
Researchers have developed a novel energy system comprising PVT panels, reverse osmosis, reverse electrodialysis, and proton exchange membranes. The proposed setup can purportedly produce 18.78 kg/day of hydrogen and 120.6 m³/day of freshwater. “The following assumptions are made during the systems analysis: the reference temperature and pressure considered during analysis are 298 K and 101.325 kPa; the sun surface temperature is assumed to be 5700 K; the seawater brine is composed of NaCl. And feed streams to the RED system is the solution of water and NaCl; the isentropic efficiency of the pump and compressor are considered as 85%; the outlet temperature of fluid leaving the PV/T system is 65 C; the system is operating 8 h/day due to solar irradiation limitations,” said the team. Among different parameters, the academics set an irradiance of 800 W/m2. 610 PV/T panels with a maximum electrical generation of 300 W were placed to power the system, converting up to 20% of the solar energy into electricity, while the rest is used for its thermal product. The RP system had a recovery rate of 0.6, the RED used 100 cell pairs, the PEM used 200 cells, and the PCA unit used 2.5 V. The system was found to achieve energy and exergy efficiencies of 66.9% and 23.1%, respectively, with the PVT subsystem showing the highest exergy destruction rate. It could produce 18.78 kg/day of hydrogen and 120.6 m³/day of freshwater. “The RED system generates hydrogen at 0.00041 kg/s, where the production rate increases with rising current density, while the PCA system produces hydrogen at a rate of 0.00024 kg/s,” the academics explained. The PEM fuel cell generates 4.9 kW of electricity, though its efficiency decreases with higher current density.” They introduced the novel concept in “Thermodynamic analysis of solar-driven integrated system for efficient brine management and hydrogen production,” published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. |
