Investigating the performance of hydroxy gas producing electrolyzer using solar cells

Hydrogen is considered as a new source of energy. One of the most used methods of hydrogen gas production is water electrolysis. Electrolysis of water by an electrolyzer and by passing an electric current through water molecules, using an intercellular membrane causes the breakdown of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. If the intercellular membrane is removed, hydrogen gas and oxygen are mixed and hydroxy gas is produced. This gas, which includes hydrogen and oxygen molecules, has been considered as an auxiliary fuel. For this purpose, in this research, the design and construction of a multi-cell electrolyzer producing hydroxy gas without a membrane using 316 steel sheet has been discussed. To increase the conductivity of water, potassium hydroxide electrolyte was used, and solar panels with different powers were used to supply the required energy consumption of the electrolyzer. Then, by conducting various experiments, the application of this technology using solar energy has been investigated. The results of the tests show that each electrolyzer plate has a voltage of 2 to 3 volts and there must be a proper proportion between the number of electrolyzer plates and the voltage of the panels. The production per solar panel surface for the three studied conditions was obtained as 1919, 4542.5 and 6919 liters per square meter, respectively, which indicates that there are optimal values corresponding to the panel surface and the area of the electrolyzer plates, which leads to an optimal current passing. It becomes more appropriate from the device and its performance.