Modeling and thermodynamic evaluation of solar energy based hydrogen production system

In this thesis discussed an experimental study of a solar-assisted electricity and hydrogen production system. The study focuses on the production of green hydrogen with a novel design. The thermal energy required for the generation of electrical energy is provided by the evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector (ETHPSC). The Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system is preferred for electrical energy generation. The obtained electrical energy is spent in the proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEME) used for hydrogen production. Energy and exergy balance has been established for each piece of equipment used in the solar power-assisted electricity and hydrogen production system, and the thermodynamic efficiency of the system has been calculated. As a result of the study, the net electricity production obtained from the ORC system was measured as 1.317 kW. The energy and exergy efficiency of the whole system was calculated as 47.86% and 42.16%, respectively. In addition, 0.000003392 kg/s hydrogen production is realized when all of the electrical energy obtained is spent on hydrogen production Additionally, the cost of solar-assisted hydrogen production is calculated at approximately $1.72/kg.