Integration of Hydrogen Production via PEM Electrolysis for Fuelling

Abstract

Renewable Energy Systems is the focus of energy sector going forward in order to reduce the carbon footprint and dependency on fossil fuels. Integrating it with an energy carrier can help with elimination of intermittency issues existing in the former. Hydrogen (H2) exhibit properties such as high energy to mass content and no release of harmful products upon consumption, making it a good candidate for energy carrier. Electrolysis of Water (H2O) combined with solar energy is one of the pathways for obtaining green Hydrogen. Establishment of decentralized Hydrogen production sites can be significant in the initial growth stage of the Hydrogen energy infrastructure. This thesis aims to look at the possibility of incorporating solar based hydrogen production systems with existing fueling stations. Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser was used in the study due to its compactness and ability to work efficiently at intermittent loads. A mathematical model was developed using equations from literature in MATLAB and simulated. The energy and water requirement of the Electrolyser were found to be 51.83 kWh/ kg H2 and 10.03 L H2O per kg of H2. Parametric studies were also performed additionally to study the influence of different properties such as current density, pressure and temperature on the electrolyser. Ambient conditions (25 ℃ and 1 atm) were found to be optimal condition for the electrolyser operation. Purification of H2 and Oxygen (O2) effluents was simulated in ASPEN. The purity of H2 and O2 obtained was 99.999 mol% and 99.97 mol% respectively. These were in line with international standards and was found suitable for use in Fuel Cell applications within transportation vehicles. Solar energy system was designed and simulated using PVsyst. Local geographical data was used and 92 W/m2 of energy could be obtained from the PV panels. Deionized Water production systems was designed and simulated using Winflow. Economic Analysis was performed to ultimately obtain the Levelized Cost of H2 (LCOH) which was found to be 5.912 USD per kg H2. LCOH was compared with various literature values and was on the lower spectrum, making it affordable. Additionally, a case study was performed to look at the possibility of integrating the designed system with existing petrol stations. Stations on the outskirts of cities have large empty land areas which made it suitable for installing PV systems that can support greater amounts of H2 production. Three stations in the Al Ain region of Abu Dhabi were selected due to their geographical advantages. In total, 60 public transportation buses could be supported which is equivalent to around 7 % of the existing public transportation fleet in the Abu Dhabi Emirate. Deeper Analysis of the case study would require extra Geographic Information System (GIS) data.

Date of Award	Dec 2022
Original language	American English
Supervisor	ALI ALMANSOORI (Supervisor)