Studying the effect of different variables on the production of Hydrogen from sea water using PV cells coupled to an electrolyzer

An integrated system consisting of electrolyzer, PV cells, D.C. batteries, current limiter was utilized to produce Hydrogen from sea water brought from the Gulf of Aqaba. The System performance was monitored online. Measurements included current and voltage obtained from the PV cells, battery, needed current and voltage to run the electrolyzer, solar irradiance, temperature at the PV cells and the ambient temperature. The dependence of Hydrogen production on the given variables (electrolyzer current, solar irradiance and temperature at the PV cells) was correlated using multiple regressions with reference to ANOVA statistical analysis: Production (ml) = -100.78 - 6.04×Tc + 0.55×Ir + 2.95×I R² = 0.98, while R² adj = 0.96 Surface response using the three dimensional mapping showed that increasing electrolyzer voltage and current will increase the power consumption during electrolysis. Other variables such as temperature, flow rate and the geometry of the electrolyzer were kept constant because of its direct influence on the production of Hydrogen. The functionality of the solar panels, electrolyzer with the flow system and data acquisition setup has been successfully demonstrated. Using the batteries as an intermediate stage between the solar panels and the ECR eliminated the effect of variation in solar irradiation due to day, night, cloudy and rainy conditions.