Abstract
Green hydrogen is a buzzword in today's renewable energy applications research domain. This paper analyzes the performance of the photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems for the same reason. The prototype system includes PV, TEG, a heat sink, and a Hofmann Voltameter. The output of the PV–TEG is initially connected to a Hofmann Voltmeter to conduct electrolysis of groundwater and seawater. Further, a heat sink is pasted on each TEG using a thermally conductive adhesive. Then again, PV–TEG/heat sink output is connected to the Voltameter for electrolysis on the same water source samples. Finally, the comparative exploration is done to give insights into PV–TEG applications for hydrogen production. The explorative study shows a DC voltage gain of up to 1.77 times concerning TEG alone. Further, at 849 W/m2 of solar irradiance, it is observed that hydrogen production varies from 0.1552 to 0.1639 bar/sec in the case of groundwater and that of seawater goes from 0.1362 to 0.1413 bar/sec when PV–TEG with a heat sink is connected to Voltameter.
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Abbreviations
- PV:
-
Photovoltaic
- PVT:
-
Photovoltaic thermal
- TEG:
-
Thermoelectric generator
- DC:
-
Direct current
- α :
-
See back coefficient
- T :
-
Operating temperature
- P :
-
Electrical resistivity
- K :
-
Thermal conductivity
- A :
-
Area of TEG
- P eo :
-
Electrical output
- \(\Delta T\) :
-
Temperature variation between the hot side and cold side of TEG
- d :
-
Thickness of TEG
- P o :
-
The extracted electric output power
- Q i :
-
Net heat flowing into TEG
- P si :
-
Solar input
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank VIT for providing 'VIT SEED GRANT (SG20210085)' for carrying out this research work. Furthermore, the authors keenly acknowledge the contribution of Dr Natarajan. M while develo** the experimental setup and Renewable Energy System (RES) laboratory personnel for providing necessary resources.
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Gopinath, M., Marimuthu, R. Comparative study of hydrogen production from seawater and groundwater using PV–TEG. Clean Techn Environ Policy 25, 2451–2466 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-023-02569-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-023-02569-1