Multi-objective optimization of an experimental integrated thermochemical cycle of hydrogen production with an artificial neural network

In this study, an experimental lab-scale copper-chlorine (Cu–Cl) cycle of hydrogen production is examined and optimized in terms of exergy efficiency and operational costs of produced hydrogen. The integrated process is modeled and simulated in Aspen Plus incorporating the reaction kinetic parameters with a sensitivity analysis of a range of operating conditions. An artificial neural network (ANN) method with machine learning is used to generate a mathematical function that is optimized based on a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) method. A sensitivity analysis of variations of each design parameter for both the objective functions and the effectiveness of exergy performance relative to operational costs of produced hydrogen is demonstrated. The sensitivity analysis and optimization results are presented and discussed.     

Power management control for off-grid solar hydrogen production and utilisation system

Climate change concerns, increasing global energy demand, coupled with pending peak supply of fossil fuels, calls for development of new power source. The rapid price drops for solar technologies and combined with international and national policy changes makes solar energy more affordable and accessible for widespread adoption. Solar energy also contributes towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The combination of electrolysis of water and fuel cells, which use hydrogen as an energy carrier extends the utility of the solar energy. For an integrated solar powered hydrogen production, storage and utilisation system, one of the elements that needs to be designed carefully is the power management system. Power management strategy has a complex function in this type of solar hydrogen system. This paper presents a power management strategy based on fuzzy logic technology to address the problems.     

Assessment of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle using waste tires for hydrogen and fresh water production

In this paper, an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), which uses waste tires as a feedstock, for power, hydrogen and freshwater production is modeled using both EES and Aspen Plus software packages and assessed thermodynamically. During the study, it is found that tire gasification is a viable solution for leftover tire waste in the world. Furthermore, the novel integration of a multi effect desalination plant, driven by the excess heat from the combined cycle, further increases the systems plant efficiency. The hydrogen production to feed rate ratio is found to be 0.154, which is competitive to high-quality coals, such as Illinois No.6, making waste tires an excellent feedstock to produce hydrogen. The net power production output from the combined cycle is 14.5 MW which was driven by the excess thermal energy of the syngas. The water distillate production rate from the forward flow multi-effect desalination plant at the set conditions is found to be 0.99 kg/s. The systems overall energy and exergy efficiencies obtained are 58.9% and 57.4%, respectively.     

Dynamic modelling and multi-objective optimization of off-grid hybrid energy systems by using battery or hydrogen storage for different climates

The energy storage problem is an essential issue in renewable energy-based power systems. A comprehensive study is performed to evaluate off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems with a battery bank or a hydrogen system employed as the energy storage option. Dynamic modelling is proposed to see daily and seasonally changes in the system. The economic feasibility of the system and its environmental impacts are investigated in three locations. A multi-objective optimization method based on the Taguchi approach is employed to minimize both levelized cost of energy and the CO₂ emissions. Various weight factors were assigned to understand the response of different optimization targets. The results highlight that the hybridization of energy resources allows the annual emissions to be cut by 68–78% for battery storage, 84–90% for hydrogen storage, compared to a diesel-only system. Despite having higher costs, the systems with hydrogen storage can store energy in the long term; therefore, they have lower CO₂ emissions.     

Design of systems for hydrogen production based on the Cu-Cl thermochemical water decomposition cycle: Configurations and performance

In this study, we analyze several Cu-Cl cycles by examining various design schemes for an overall system and its components, in order to identify potential performance improvements. The factors that determine the number and effective grouping of steps for new design schemes are analyzed. A thermodynamic analysis and several parametric studies are presented for various configurations. The energy efficiency is found to be 44% for the five-step thermochemical process, 43% for the four-step process and 41% for the three-step process, based on the lower heating value of hydrogen. Also, conclusions regarding implementation of these new configurations are discussed and the potential benefits ascertained.     

Design,modeling and optimization of a renewable-based system for power generation and hydrogen production

Due to the environmental concerns caused by fossil fuels, renewable energy systems came into consideration. In this study, a renewable hybrid system based on ocean thermal, solar and wind energy sources were designed for power generation and hydrogen production. To analyze the system, a techno-economic model was exerted in order to calculate the exergy efficiency as well as the cost rate and the hydrogen production. The main parameters that affect the system performance were identified, and the impact of each parameter on the main outputs of the system was analyzed as well. The thermo-economic analysis showed that the most effective parameters on the exergy efficiency and total cost rate are the wind speed and solar collector area, respectively. To reach the optimum performance of the system, multi-objective optimization, by using genetic algorithm, was applied. The optimization was divided into two separate case studies; in case A, the cost rate and the exergy efficiency were considered as two objective functions; and in case B, the cost rate and the hydrogen production were assigned as two other objective functions. The optimization results of the case A showed that for the total cost rate of 30.5 $/h, the exergy efficiency could achieve 35.57%. While, the optimization of the case B showed that for the total cost rate of 28.06 $/h, the hydrogen production rate could reach 5.104 kg/h. Furthermore, after optimizing, an improvement in exergy efficiency was obtained, approximately 19%.     

Optimizing site selection for hydrogen production in Iceland

While the world energy demand is steadily growing, the concern for the environmental aspects of energy use and natural resource exploitation has increased. A new market has emerged for renewable energy, often referred to as “green energy”. This paper presents an optimization model developed as part of a feasibility study on the idea of exporting renewable energy in the form of hydrogen, from Iceland to the continent of Europe.     

Multi-objective optimization of batteries and hydrogen storage technologies for remote photovoltaic systems

Stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems comprise one of the promising electrification solutions to cover the demand of remote consumers, especially when it is coupled with a storage solution that would both increase the productivity of power plants and reduce the areas dedicated to energy production.     

Procedure for optimal design of hydrogen production plants with reserve storage and a stand-alone photovoltaic power system

A procedure for sizing an electrolytic hydrogen production plant powered by a stand-alone photovoltaic system is described in this study. Our fundamental proposal is to compensate the loss of load probability of the photovoltaic system, by means of a hydrogen complementary storage. We compute the necessary hydrogen volume of that reserve storage. Using the isoreliability map of curves that characterizes a given location, we determine the size of the photovoltaic system that would be needed to generate a predetermined flow of hydrogen. Finally, we share information on our own experience relating to the design of the experimental installation at Villafría, located in the city of Burgos, Spain.     

Hydrogen production and End-Uses from combined heat,hydrogen and power system by using local resources

To address the problem of fossil fuel usage at the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus, using of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources can lower energy consumption and hydrogen use. Biogas, produced by anaerobic digestion of wastewater, organic waste, agricultural waste, industrial waste, and animal by-products is a potential source of renewable energy. In this work, we have discussed Hydrogen production and End-Uses from CHHP system for the campus using local resources. Following the resource assessment study, the team selects FuelCell Energy DFC1500™ unit as a molten carbonate fuel cell to study of combined heat, hydrogen and power (CHHP) system based on a molten carbonate fuel cell fed by biogas produced by anaerobic digestion. The CHHP system provides approximately 650 kg/day. The total hydrogen usage 123 kg/day on the university campus including personal transportation applications, backup power applications, portable power applications, and other mobility applications are 56, 16, 29, 17, and 5 respectively. The excess hydrogen could be sold to a gas retailer. In conclusion, the CHHP system will be able to reduce fossil fuel usage, greenhouse gas emissions and hydrogen generated is used to power different applications on the university campus.     

Thermo-environ study of a concentrated photovoltaic thermal system integrated with Kalina cycle for multigeneration and hydrogen production

Unlike steam and gas cycles, the Kalina cycle system can utilize low-grade heat to produce electricity with water-ammonia solution and other mixed working fluids with similar thermal properties. Concentrated photovoltaic thermal systems have proven to be a technology that can be used to maximize solar energy conversion and utilization. In this study, the integration of Kalina cycle with a concentrated photovoltaic thermal system for multigeneration and hydrogen production is investigated. The purpose of this research is to develop a system that can generate more electricity from a solar photovoltaic thermal/Kalina system hybridization while multigeneration and producing hydrogen. With this aim, two different system configurations are modeled and presented in this study to compare the performance of a concentrated photovoltaic thermal integrated multigeneration system with and without a Kalina system. The modeled systems will generate hot water, hydrogen, hot air, electricity, and cooling effect with photovoltaic cells, a Kalina cycle, a hot water tank, a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, a single effect absorption system, and a hot air tank. The environmental benefit of two multigeneration systems modeled in terms of carbon emission reduction and fossil fuel savings is also studied. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the heliostat used in concentrating solar radiation onto the photovoltaic thermal system are 90% and 89.5% respectively, while the hydrogen production from the two multigeneration system configurations is 10.6 L/s. The concentrated photovoltaic thermal system has a 74% energy efficiency and 45.75% exergy efficiency, while the hot air production chamber has an 85% and 62.3% energy and exergy efficiencies, respectively. Results from this study showed that the overall energy efficiency of the multigeneration system increases from 68.73% to 70.08% with the integration of the Kalina system. Also, an additional 417 kW of electricity is produced with the integration of the Kalina system and this justifies the importance of the configuration. The production of hot air at the condensing stage of the photovoltaic thermal/Kalina hybrid system is integral to the overall performance of the system.     

Thermodynamic analysis and optimization of an integrated solar thermochemical hydrogen production system

In this study, thermodynamic analysis of solar-based hydrogen production via copper-chlorine (Cu–Cl) thermochemical water splitting cycle is presented. The integrated system utilizes air as the heat transfer fluid of a cavity-pressurized solar power tower to supply heat to the Cu–Cl cycle reactors and heat exchangers. To achieve continuous operation of the system, phase change material based on eutectic fluoride salt is used as the thermal energy storage medium. A heat recovery system is also proposed to use the potential waste heat of the Cu–Cl cycle to produce electricity and steam. The system components are investigated thoroughly and system hotspots, exergy destructions and overall system performance are evaluated. The effects of varying major input parameters on the overall system performance are also investigated. For the baseline, the integrated system produces 343.01 kg/h of hydrogen, 41.68 MW of electricity and 11.39 kg/s of steam. Overall system energy and exergy efficiencies are 45.07% and 49.04%, respectively. Using Genetic Algorithm (GA), an optimization is performed to evaluate the maximum amount of produced hydrogen. The optimization results show that by selecting appropriate input parameters, hydrogen production rate of 491.26 kg/h is achieved.     

Potential of renewable hydrogen production for energy supply in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is highly vulnerable to energy and economic security due to the heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels also causes serious environmental pollution. Therefore, it is important to explore the opportunities for clean renewable energy for long-term energy supply. Hong Kong has the potential to develop clean renewable hydrogen energy to improve the environmental performance. This paper reviews the recent development of hydrogen production technologies, followed by an overview of the renewable energy sources and a discussion about potential applications for renewable hydrogen production in Hong Kong. The results show that although renewable energy resources cannot entirely satisfy the energy demand in Hong Kong, solar energy, wind power, and biomass are available renewable sources for significant hydrogen production. A system consisting of wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) panels coupled with electrolyzers is a promising design to produce hydrogen. Biomass, especially organic waste, offers an economical, environmental-friendly way for renewable hydrogen production. The achievable hydrogen energy output would be as much as 40% of the total energy consumption in transportation.     

A super-efficient method for hydrogen production from seawater

A hybrid system to produce hydrogen from the seawater is proposed and the best condition of that to have the highest efficiency is found here. The hybrid system consists of parabolic trough collectors, reverse osmosis (RO) desalination system, and a thermochemical water decomposition unit with heat dissipation system by cooling towers. The main process is based on the cuprous chloride (five-step) cycle that is optimized compared to previous research works. The RO and Cu–Cl processes are simulated by ROZA and Aspen HYSYS software programs, respectively, which are linked to the developed MATLAB codes for other components. The optimum area of the parabolic trough collectors is found 2964.6 m². Furthermore, the foremost dimensions for two cooling towers are 40 and 20 m height, and 50 and 35 m base diameter, respectively. Additionally, according to the results, the proposed hybrid system enjoys a high level of both energy and exergy efficiency values at the same time. The total energy efficiency of the hybrid H₂ production system is 18%, while it has the exergy efficiency of 30%.     

Control design for an autonomous wind based hydrogen production system

This paper presents a complete control scheme to efficiently manage the operation of an autonomous wind based hydrogen production system. This system comprises a wind energy generation module based on a multipolar permanent magnet synchronous generator, a lead-acid battery bank as short term energy storage and an alkaline von Hoerner electrolyzer. The control is developed in two hierarchical levels. The higher control level or supervisor control determines the general operation strategy for the whole system according to the wind conditions and the state of charge of the battery bank. On the other hand, the lower control level includes the individual controllers that regulate the respective module operation assuming the set-points determined by the supervisor control. These last controllers are approached using second-order super-twisting sliding mode techniques. The performance of the closed-loop system is assessed through representative computer simulations.     

Large-vscale hydrogen production and storage technologies: Current status and future directions

Over the past years, hydrogen has been identified as the most promising carrier of clean energy. In a world that aims to replace fossil fuels to mitigate greenhouse emissions and address other environmental concerns, hydrogen generation technologies have become a main player in the energy mix. Since hydrogen is the main working medium in fuel cells and hydrogen-based energy storage systems, integrating these systems with other renewable energy systems is becoming very feasible. For example, the coupling of wind or solar systems hydrogen fuel cells as secondary energy sources is proven to enhance grid stability and secure the reliable energy supply for all times. The current demand for clean energy is unprecedented, and it seems that hydrogen can meet such demand only when produced and stored in large quantities. This paper presents an overview of the main hydrogen production and storage technologies, along with their challenges. They are presented to help identify technologies that have sufficient potential for large-scale energy applications that rely on hydrogen. Producing hydrogen from water and fossil fuels and storing it in underground formations are the best large-scale production and storage technologies. However, the local conditions of a specific region play a key role in determining the most suited production and storage methods, and there might be a need to combine multiple strategies together to allow a significant large-scale production and storage of hydrogen.     

A comparative life cycle analysis of hydrogen production via thermochemical water splitting using a Cu-Cl cycle

In this paper, a comparative environmental study is reported of the Cu-Cl water-splitting cycle with various other hydrogen production methods: the sulphur-iodine (S-I) water-splitting cycle, high temperature water electrolysis, conventional steam reforming of natural gas and hydrogen production from renewable resources. The investigation uses life cycle assessment (LCA), which is an analytical tool to identify and quantify environmentally critical phases during the life cycle of a system or a product and/or to evaluate and decrease the overall environmental impact of the system or product. The LCA results for the hydrogen production processes indicate that the thermochemical cycles have lower environmental impacts while steam reforming of natural gas has the highest.     

Life cycle analysis of processes for hydrogen production

Hydrogen is considered to be an ideal energy carrier in the foreseeable future and can play a very important role in the energy system. A variety of technologies can be used to produce hydrogen. One of the most remarkable methods for large-scale hydrogen production is thermo-chemical water decomposition using heat energy from nuclear, solar and other sources. Detailed simulations of the two most promising water splitting thermo-chemical cycles (the Westinghouse cycle and the Sulphur-Iodine cycle) were performed in Aspen Plus code and obtained results were used for life cycle analysis. They were compared with two different processes for hydrogen production (coal gasification and coal pyrolysis). Some of the results obtained from LCA are also reported in the paper.     

Multi-objective optimization of hydrogen production process and steam reforming reactor design

This study proposes a multi-objective optimization approach to design a steam methane reforming (SMR) reactor and maximize the efficiency of the hydrogen production process. Out of 1782 possible variable combinations, only 50 iterations were performed, identifying three Pareto optimal that resulted in reactor size reductions of 50.53%, 35.56%, and 20.69%, respectively, compared to the reference reactor. The process efficiency for each optimal design varied slightly, with one achieving a 105.05% increase in efficiency, another remaining stable at 100.48%, and a third experiencing a slight decrease to 86.66% compared to the reference case. The results offer practical insights for planning an on-site distributed hydrogen production system, demonstrating that an increase in overall process efficiency can be achieved even with a reduced reactor size. This work is the first attempt to optimize a hydrogen production system by simultaneously considering overall process efficiency and SMR reactor design.     

An energy management approach for renewable energy integration with power generation and water desalination

The share of the renewable energy sources (RES) in the global electricity market is substantially increasing as a result of the commitment of many countries to increase the contribution of the RES to their energy mix. However, the integration of RES in the electricity grid increases the complexity of the grid management due to the variability and the intermittent nature of these energy sources. Energy storage solutions such as batteries offer either short-term storage that is not sufficient or longer period storage that is significantly expensive. This paper introduces an energy management approach which can be applied in the case of power and desalinated water generation. The approach is based on mathematical optimization model which accounts for random variations in demands and energy supply. The approach allows using desalination plants as a deferrable load to mitigate for the variability of the renewable energy supply and water and/or electricity demands. A mathematical linear programming model is developed to show the applicability of this idea and its effectiveness in reducing the impact of the uncertainty in the environment. The model is solved for the real world case of Saudi Arabia. The optimal solution accounts for random variations in the renewable energy supply and water and/or electricity demands while minimizing the total costs for generating water and power.