Performance Evaluation of Hydrogen Production System Using CPVT/ROC

Hydrogen is usually used as a means of storing the energy produced from renewable energy resources. The electrolyzer, meanwhile, is a system by which hydrogen can be produced sustainably. In the present paper, a Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal/Organic Rankine Cycle (CPVT/ORC) system coupled with a PEM electrolyzer system is simulated and evaluated. Concentrated solar radiation is used as the input energy of the coupled system. Part of this radiation is converted directly into electrical energy using the Photovoltaic (PV) panel, and the rest enters the organic Rankine cycle system as heat. The heat in the cycle is converted into mechanical power by the turbine and finally into electrical energy by the generator. The total electrical power generated by the organic Rankin panel and cycle enters the electrolyzer for producing hydrogen. A combination of MATLAB and REFPROP software was used to simulate the system performance.  The most striking result is that that the net generating power of the system is equal to 3820 watts, which is equivalent to producing 0.02072 grams per second of hydrogen and 0.0829 grams per second of oxygen.