Energy Sources, Vol.21, No.7, 629-641, 1999
Hydrogen gas production and utilization as electricity using a renewable energy source
The present study includes two main parts. The first describes hydrogen production from electrolysis water depending on the DC output current of the photovoltaic (PV) energy source. The second part presents the utilization of produced hydrogen to generate electric power. The design of a closed loop cycle for electrolyzer and fuel cell to produce hydrogen and generate electrical energy, respectively, depending on a renewable energy source, is considered. Five different types of electrolyzer and fuel cells are studied to depict the effect of these types with respect to the current voltage, cell temperature, cell pressure, sizing and the required number of modules to produce one cubic meter of hydrogen per one hour. According to the various types of electrolyzer and fuel cell, multi PV systems are designed to produce 10 m(3)/day of hydrogen. The daily PV solar energy consumption to produce 10 m(3) of hydrogen gas is calculated Also I-V and P-V characteristics of PV arrays for different percentages of insolation for the selected isolated area (Aswan) are calculated. The results show that the first floe of electrolyzer (conventional alkaline) is the most economical one to produce hydrogen gas at the lowest values of the electrical current and voltage. The first and the second types of the fuel cells (alkaline & polymer membrane) generate a higher value of electrical energy than the others.
Keywords:SOLAR