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Design and Implementation of High Voltage Photovoltaic Electrolysis System for Solar Fuel Production from CO2

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2017

Gowri M. Sriramagiri ,
Nuha Ahmed ,
Wesley Luc ,
Kevin Dobson ,
Steven S. Hegedus ,
Feng Jiao  and
Robert W. Birkmire
Gowri M. Sriramagiri*
Affiliation:
Dept. Of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A. Institute of Energy Conversion, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A.
Nuha Ahmed
Affiliation:
Dept. Of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A. Institute of Energy Conversion, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A.
Wesley Luc
Affiliation:
Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Kevin Dobson
Affiliation:
Institute of Energy Conversion, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A.
Steven S. Hegedus
Affiliation:
Dept. Of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A. Institute of Energy Conversion, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A.
Feng Jiao
Affiliation:
Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Robert W. Birkmire
Affiliation:
Institute of Energy Conversion, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
*
*(Email: gowrims@udel.edu)
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Abstract

Growing interest in the use of CO2 as a feedstock for fuel generation has led to increased interest in solar CO2 electrolysis for renewable fuel generation which has a variety of applications ranging from providing renewable sources for energy-dense carbon fuels, to curbing high-density emissions from power plants, industries and automobiles. The challenges of integrated solar-to-carbon fuel converters, where the photovoltaic (PV) material is immersed in the electrolyte, are well-known: the need for unique PV cell designs; material incompatibility; corrosion; and optical losses. In this paper, a PV-electrolysis system is presented, where a flow-cell electrolyzer is power-matched to a high-performance solar PV module array which has two system design advantages: 1) use of standard PV cells external to the electrolyzer, which allows de-coupling the design, fabrication and operation of the PV system from that of the electrolyzer; and 2) enabling optimization of the PV configuration to maximize power coupling efficiency to the specific electrolyzer Tafel curve, with or without the use of electronic power-conditioning devices. The implemented system resulted in a peak SFE of 6.5%, a competitive solar-to-fuel efficiency (SFE) figure to those reported in literature.

Keywords

energy generationenergy storagephotovoltaic
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 2 , Issue 55: Energy Storage and Conversion , 2017 , pp. 3359 - 3364
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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References

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