Energy and exergy analysis of waste heat and solar energy assisted for hydrogen production system: A case study

Abstract

In the presented study, the focus is on the exergy efficiency of a textile factory that has the potential to optimize itself using solar energy and waste heat. Two distinct scenarios are considered in this study. In Scenario 1 (S-1), the whole system components operate solely for hydrogen production, while in Scenario 2 (S-2), the whole system components are utilized for both electricity, heat water and hydrogen production. For the harnessing waste heat, a 25 kW capacity Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system, 20 evacuated tube solar collectors (ETSC) for solar energy utilization, and a water electrolyzer for hydrogen production are employed. As a result of the thermodynamic analysis of the whole system, the energy and exergy efficiency is calculated as 5.17 %, 2.63% and 39.32%, 21.74%, respectively, according to the S-1 and S-2 scenarios. Furthermore, considering S-1 and S-2 conditions, hydrogen production amounts to 5197 kg/annual and 2209 kg/annual, respectively.