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Nnabuife, S.G.; Quainoo, K.A.; Hamzat, A.K.; Darko, C.K.; Agyemang, C.K. Innovative Strategies for Combining Solar and Wind Energy with Green Hydrogen Systems. Appl. Sci. 2024, 14, 9771. https://doi /10.3390/app14219771
Nnabuife SG, Quainoo KA, Hamzat AK, Darko CK, Agyemang CK. Innovative Strategies for Combining Solar and Wind Energy with Green Hydrogen Systems. Applied Sciences. 2024; 14(21):9771. https://doi /10.3390/app14219771
Nnabuife, Somtochukwu Godfrey, Kwamena Ato Quainoo, Abdulhammed K. Hamzat, Caleb Kwasi Darko, and Cindy Konadu Agyemang. 2024. "Innovative Strategies for Combining Solar and Wind Energy with Green Hydrogen Systems" Applied Sciences 14, no. 21: 9771. https://doi /10.3390/app14219771
Nnabuife, S. G., Quainoo, K. A., Hamzat, A. K., Darko, C. K., & Agyemang, C. K. (2024). Innovative Strategies for Combining Solar and Wind Energy with Green Hydrogen Systems. Applied Sciences, 14(21), 9771. https://doi /10.3390/app14219771
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Based on these issues, hydrogen, which is considered an alternative energy carrier, is proposed to play a significant role in future energy because it can be stored and transported and has a high calorific combustion value, making it suitable to replace fossil fuels (Saxena et al. 2008). Its eco-friendly production process also accounts for one of its key features on the road to a better environment and the success of sustainable development (Joshi et al. 2010). Moreover, hydrogen can be directly applied to fuel cells to produce electricity without any toxic emissions but with an energy yield of about 122 KJ/g, which is 2.75 times greater than hydrocarbon fuels (Fan et al. 2021). Table 1 shows the thermophysical properties of hydrogen.
Alternatively, although solar energy is superior to wind power in hydrogen production, electrolysis generally has significant downsides, such as when using platinum-based electrocatalytic metals or due to high energy demands and observed corrosion at the cathode. Hence, several patent innovations have been primarily proposed concerning the search for electrode material enhancements (Martinez-Burgos et al. 2021). To this end, the green hydrogen production process has accounted for increasing patents since 2005, with the number of patents in 2005 being 55 but increasing to 375 inventions in 2020 (an increase of 588%). Notably, Japan and the United States have a considerable lead in the number of innovations (IRENA 2022).
Electrolyzer stacks comprise many connected cells, categorized into monopolar and bipolar types. While the bipolar design connects the cells in series, the monopolar cells are connected electrically and geometrically in parallel. Consequently, electric wiring is less in the bipolar one due to its compactness, enhancing its efficiency. However, this type''s main drawback is its high cost due to its complex design compared with monopolar stacks (Zhang et al. 2016).
A PEM electrolyzer was firstly introduced in the 1960s by General Electric (Buttler and Spliethoff 2018). The fundamental components of PEM are its anode, cathode, and electrolyte (Table 3), while the most common materials for anode and cathode are platinum, iridium, ruthenium, and platinum on carbon. The Chemours Company FC, LLC, with trademark Nafion and FUMATECH BWT GmbH with trademark Fumapem are the typical suppliers for the PEM membrane. Alternatively, electrolyte materials are responsible for the high conductivity of protons, low gas crossover, compact design of an electrolyzer, and high operation pressure (15–30 bar at 50–90°C) (Carmo et al. 2013).
The significant PEM advantages are that it can perfectly deal with load fluctuation due to its rapid response, with its produced hydrogen purity up to 99.999% (Buttler and Spliethoff 2018). In contrast, the main disadvantage, until now, is its high cost due to the noble material used inside the electrolyzer (Bhandari et al. 2014). Table 3 shows PEM''s operation principle and main parameters.
AWE is the most mature technology among the other types. It is reliable and safe and can be maintained in a large-scale unit (Yan and Hino 2018). This electrolyzer is composed of two electrodes submerged in a liquid electrolyte water solution, usually 20–40% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) (Zhang et al. 2016). A diaphragm separates these electrodes in the solution, allowing water molecules and hydroxide ions to pass through. The diaphragm also separates H2 and O2 for safety and purity aspects (Carmo et al. 2013; El-Emam and Özcan 2019) (Table 3). Consequently, the purity of the produced hydrogen is 99.5 to 99.9% and can be increased up to 99.999% by catalytic gas purification processes (Buttler and Spliethoff 2018).
Notably, AWE performance is influenced by the diaphragm, anode, and cathode material type and thickness. As an example, Fig. 3 demonstrates the effect of cathode material on hydrogen production (Mert et al. 2019). Investigations revealed that while the Cu/NiMo cathode has the highest hydrogen production, the Cu cathode has the lowest. Moreover, although an electrolyte''s temperature does not affect hydrogen production and lowers the required power (Rahim et al. 2015), an electrolyte solution''s concentration affects the output. Therefore, the main difference between PEM and AWE is the electrolyte type since PEMs use a solid polymer membrane electrolyte, but AWEs use a corrosive liquid electrolyte.
Hydrogen production from AWE at different cathode materials (Mert et al. 2019)
AEM has recently been designed as an alternative to traditional water electrolyzers. Interestingly, AWE and PEM are combined in AEM to address some of the drawbacks of the first and second electrolyzer types. Hence, it combines a low-concentration alkaline solution as opposed to a 20–40% KOH or NaOH aqueous solution with a solid electrolyte (polymeric) membrane (e.g., Mg-Al LDH) (Cho et al. 2018; Li and Baek 2021). Furthermore, the anode in an AEM is manufactured from Ni-based (e.g., Ni foams) or titanium materials, and the cathode comprises Ni, Ni-Fe, and NiFe2O4 (Faid et al. 2018; Chi and Yu 2018; Li and Baek 2021). Table 3 shows the reaction inside AEM and its working principle.
Although SOE operates at a high temperature, the electricity required to drive its electrolysis process at such a high temperature is significantly reduced compared to low-temperature electrolysis. Therefore, the system''s efficiency is improved because it uses inexpensive thermal energy or waste heat. Furthermore, while the cathode material is made from a 50/50 wt% mixture of lanthanum strontium manganite and yttrium-stabilized zirconia, the anode and electrolyte materials are cermets and ceramic, respectively (El-Emam and Özcan 2019). However, SOE must undergo further research and development to provide better catalyst and electrode materials (El-Emam and Özcan 2019).
Its hydrogen production process is described as follows: First, steam at the cathode side is reduced to hydrogen according to the cathode reaction, and then, the oxide anions generated on the cathode side are the path through which solid electrolytes form oxygen on the anode side. Table 3 summarizes SOE''s characteristics, specifications, advantages, and disadvantages.
The primary goal of commercializing hydrogen generation using electrolysis is to reduce investment and operational expenses (Younas et al. 2022). While it is possible to build renewable water electrolysis systems using currently available technologies, the system''s costs are unlikely to decrease soon without a dramatic breakthrough in solar and wind technology. Other issues, such as the intermittent nature of energy sources, water consumption rates, and their efficiencies, also need to be addressed. Therefore, this electrolysis method is considered less attractive, considering its hydrogen production cost.
Solar and wind energy produces sufficient electricity to drive electrolyzers for hydrogen storage or direct use during production. Typical examples of solar energy are photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) systems (Soliman et al. 2019). However, wind turbines used to convert wind to power are an example of wind energy. Although PV panels and wind turbines are directly coupled with electrolyzers, CSP is first associated with a power cycle for electricity production before connecting them to electrolyzers. Therefore, the need for an AC/DC or DC/DC converter is mandatory in electrolyzer load adjustments.
Green production offers an ideal solution to provide remote areas with power due to the high cost of power transmission (Singla et al. 2021). Therefore, excess energy from renewable sources has been used to operate electrolyzers for hydrogen production. Hydrogen can also be used in fuel cells to produce electricity during the night or intermittency. Fig. 4 presents the basic concept of a solar/wind hydrogen production system.
The schematic diagram for solar/wind hydrogen production systems
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