Proposal and thermo-economic analysis of the solar-driven combined plant with CO2 power cycles for hydrogen generation

Abstract

This research delves into an innovative solar energy integrated combined plant, a cutting-edge technology that produces a range of valuable outputs including power, freshwater, hydrogen, and hot water for heating. The developed scheme incorporates a solar collector, supercritical Brayton cycle, transcritical Rankine cycle, multi-effect desalination unit, and PEM electrolyzer. A comprehensive evaluation of the system’s thermodynamic and economic performance, including energy and exergy efficiency, exergy destruction rate, hydrogen generation cost, and total investment cost rates, is conducted. The analysis revealed a net power production load of 505.8 kW, hydrogen capacity of 0.0004139 kgs⁻¹, and a freshwater production rate of 5.698 kgs⁻¹.

The research yielded promising results, with the total exergy destruction rate calculated at 5706 kW, and the solar collector identified as the most efficient component. The energetic and exergetic performance of the developed scheme is determined to be 33.92 % and 30.83 %, respectively, indicating a high level of efficiency. The economic cost studies further revealed that the entire investment cost rate of the proposed scheme is a mere 0.0019 $s⁻¹, demonstrating the potential for cost-effective implementation.