Design and Operation of a Solar Powered Hydrogen Production Unit under Climatic Conditions of Taif City, Saudi Arabia

Abstract The utilization of solar hydrogen energy systems in Saudi Arabia could cover a significant part of the population and industrial demand for energy. In the present study, a model of a solar hydrogen production unit using electrolysis is designed and operated under the ambient atmospheric conditions of Taif city, Saudi Arabia. The proposed solar hydrogen production unit is mainly consisted of a single solar panel and a seven-cell PEM electrolyzer stack for hydrogen production from distilled water. The efficiency of the solar hydrogen production unit is measured under different operating conditions. Samples of the obtained preliminary results are illustrated and discussed in details. Moreover, the proposed model can be considered as a stand-alone unit for hydrogen generation that can be applied in wide range of engineering applications. Keywords: Experimental Study, Electrolyzer Efficiency, Hydrogen Production, PEM Electrolyzer, Solar Energy. : . . . . . .
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Introduction The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with its natural resources of solar energy and see water as well as its infrastructure and experiences could become one of the major solar hydrogen producer in the world. Hydrogen that is produced from water splitting using solar energy could be considered as sustainable and renewable home energy supply. It can be stored and re-used to produce heat and electricity on demand. Hydrogen can store the energy until its needed and move it to where its needed. Consequently, hydrogen sometimes called energy carriers. Moreover, hydrogen can solve the problems of fossil fuels such as future shortage or environmental pollution. Hydrogen can be burnt in a large size, heavy-duty gas turbine designed to run on natural gas as a possible short-term measure to reduce greenhouse emissions of the power industry [1]. Many fuel cells are fueled with hydrogen gas, which can be derived from many sources [2]. In industrial applications, hydrogen can be either used to produce ammonia, which is then used directly or indirectly as fertilizer or to convert heavy petroleum sources into lighter fractions suitable for use as fuels. Moreover, hydrogen can be used in wide range sectors of petrochemical industry. Since hydrogen does not exist on earth as a gas, it should be produced. Different methods can be applied for hydrogen production [3]. Hydrogen can be produced through a thermal, electrolytic, or photolytic process from fossil fuels, biomass, or water. Renewable and nuclear systems can produce hydrogen from water using a
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thermal or electrolytic process. People can even produce it in their homes with relatively simple apparatus. Water electrolysis is an electrochemical process derived by the electrical energy to produce hydrogen with the cleanest way. Hydroelectricity can be produced from renewable energy sources according to the potential of the available natural resources. Waterfalls, wind, geothermal energy, wind energy, and solar energy are forms of such renewable sources. Recently, the Solar hydrogen production becomes a reality thanks as well as a very common topic to energy research world wide [4]. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the major players in the energy field over the world either as an oil or natural gas producer [5]. Saudi Arabia has started two major research projects in solar, solar hydrogen production and its utilization. The first project is performed through the SaudiAmerican joint solar programs SOLERAS (19791985), while the second project was through the Saudi German solar hydrogen production and its utilization program HYSOLAR (19861996). Through the development activities of the first program, the largest photovoltaic field in the world (350kW), at that time (1982), was built, and through the second program the largest solar hydrogen plant in the world was built and operated successfully. Both plants are located in Saudi Arabia [610].

Figure 1. The location of Taif City in Saudi Arabia

The present study is performed in Taif city, which located at the western of Saudi Arabia, as seen in Figure 1. Figure 2 shows the distribution of solar radiation for all regions in Saudi Arabia, where it can be noted that the zones located in the southwest of Saudi Arabia receive a great amount of solar radiation than the rest of the Kingdom. Figure 3 shows the temperature history of Taif city for 7 days.

Figure 2. The distribution of solar radiation in Saudi Arabia [11]

Figure 3. Temperature history for Taif City [12] In general, the solar radiation rate for all regions in Saudi Arabia is extended throughout the year. It was found that Saudi Arabia experiences, on an average, more than 2.0MWh/m2 of global solar radiation each year on horizontal surface. The long-term mean values of sunshine duration and global solar radiation on horizontal surfaces are summarized for different cities in Saudi Arabia in [13].

Depending on geographical location, the global solar radiation varies between a minimum of 1.63MWh/m2 yr1 at Tabuk and a maximum of 2.56MWh/m2 yr1 at Bisha, as seen in [13]. In the present study, a solar hydrogen production unit is designed and utilized for hydrogen production using water electrolysis. The designed unit is operated under the climatic conditions of Taif city, Saudi Arabia. Design of Solar Hydrogen Production Unit The proposed solar hydrogen production unit, shown in Figure 4, consists of: 1-Solar panels 2- Charge controller 3- Battery system 4-Elecrolyser 5- Hydrogen storage tank.

Figure 4. The proposed solar hydrogen production unit

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The characteristics of the system components with real photos can be seen in the next section.

Solar Hydrogen production Using Electrolysis

Output Energy Output voltage Output Current Weight Manufactured

95 Watt 17.9 V 5.31 A 8.5 kg Japan

Solar Charge Controller:

Voltage Charge Current Load Current CML

12/24 10 A 10 A 10 A

DC AC Inverter Battery Charger:

Inverter
Input Voltage Output Voltage Frequency Output Power DC 12V AC 110-130V/220-240V 50-60 HZ 500 W

Battery Charger
Input Voltage Output Voltage Frequency AC 110-130V/220-240V DC 14V 50-60 HZ

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Rated Input Power

300 W

Construction
Dimensions Weight D265 x W220 x H125mm 10 kg

DC AC Inverter Battery Charger

Dimensions Weight Power Electrode area Permissible Voltage Permissible Current Gas Production(H2) D200 x W264 x H190 mm 1.48 kg 50 W at 14 V DC 7 cells of 16cm each 10.5-14V DC 0-4A DC 230 cm/min

Electrolyzer

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Experimental Setup

Results and Discussion

The following pictures shows parts of the project during the operation, and show the flow rate of hydrogen:

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Acknowledgment The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the University of Taif, Saudi Arabia.

References [1] Chiesa, P., Lozza, G. and Mazzochi, L. Using Hydrogen as Gas Turbine Fuel. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power (ASME), Vol. 127 (73), pp. 73-80, 2005. [2] Jung-Ho Wee. Application of proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 11, pp. 1720-1738, 2007. [3] Bikov, O. and Straka, P. The resources and methods of hydrogen production, Acta Geodyn. Geomater., Vol. 7, No. 2 (158), pp. 175188, 2010

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[4] Balabel, A. and Zaky, M. Experimental investigation of solar-hydrogen energy system performance. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 36, pp. 4653-4663, 2011. [5] Abaoud, H.A.and Veziroglu, T.N. Energy Kingdom. Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 43, pp. 855861, 2002. [6] Steeb H, Abaoud H. Final Report, HYSOLAR, GermanSaudi Joint Program on Solar Hydrogen Production and Utilization (Phase II 1992-1995), June 1996. [7] Solar Village Brochure. National Center for Science and Technology (KACST), 1982. [8] Soleras Brochure. SaudiUnited States Program for Cooperation in the Field of Solar Energy, 1984. [9] Grasse, W. Ostert, F. and ABA-OUD, H. Hysolar: The german-saudi arabian program on solar hydrogen--5 years of experience, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 17, No. 1. pp. 1-7, 1992. [10] Steeb, H., Seeger, W. and Aba-Oud, H. HYSOLAR: AN overview on the German-SAUDI arabian programme on solar hydrogen International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 19, No. 8. pp. 683-686, 1994. [11] Energy Research Institute, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia solar radiation atlas, Technical report, King Abdulaziz city for science and technology (KACST), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1998. [12] Hamed, A., Zeidan, E., Alosaimy, A. and Kassem, T. Application of solar energy for regeneration of liquid desiccant using rotating titled wick. International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IMMEIJENS, Vol. 12(5), 2012. [13] Rehmana, S., Badera, M. and Al-Moallemb, S. Cost of solar energy generated using PV panels, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 11, pp. 1843-1857, 2007.
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