Development and performance assessment of new solar and fuel cell-powered oxygen generators and ventilators for COVID-19 patients

In this study, a new solar-based fuel cell-powered oxygenation and ventilation system is presented for COVID-19 patients. Solar energy is utilized to operate the developed system through photovoltaic panels. The method of water splitting is utilized to generate the required oxygen through the operation of a proton exchange membrane water electrolyser. Moreover, the hydrogen produced during water splitting is utilized as fuel to operate the fuel cell system during low solar availability or the absence of solar irradiation. Transient simulations and thermodynamic analyses of the developed system are performed by accounting for the changes in solar radiation intensities during the year. The daily oxygen generation is found to vary between 170.4 kg/day and 614.2 kg/day during the year. Furthermore, the amount of daily hydrogen production varies between 21.3 kg/day and 76.8 kg/day. The peak oxygen generation rate attains a value of 18.6 g/s. Moreover, the water electrolysis subsystem entails daily exergy destruction in the range of 139.9–529.7 kWh. The maximum efficiencies of the developed system are found to be 14.3% energetically and 13.4% exergetically.