Energy/freshwater sustainability in urban areas through a novel solar-driven system with H2 production/liquefaction: Techno-economic evaluation and multi-objective optimization

• Main Authors: Wei, Haoran, Hasanuzzaman, Md., Selvaraj, Jeyraj
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier 2024
• Subjects: TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering; TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/45119/; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2024.05.050

The application of solar-based power plants systems in cities offers various advantages. These include reducing reliance on fossil fuels, declining carbon emissions, and supporting efforts to address climate change. Additionally, solar energy enhances energy resilience, promotes economic growth, and generates employment opportunities through investments in solar infrastructure. The primary goal of the current investigation is to meet the daily energy requirements of environmentally friendly urban areas. The setup includes the utilization of various processes such as LNG regasification, parabolic trough solar collectors, dual-loop power cycles, reverse osmosis, and a unit for liquefaction and hydrogen production. The analysis shows that the evaluated plant generates a net output electricity of 1994 kW and has a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of 5.1 Cent/kWh. Furthermore, the system effectively caters to the water demand of 32.21 kg/s and cooling requirement of 392 kW for residential purposes. In addition, it exhibits the capability to generate hydrogen at a rate of 9.49 kg/h, which is subsequently stored in a liquid state. The study findings indicate that adjusting the pressure of the compressor has a substantial influence on liquefaction work. Initially, the work increases with increasing pressure, reaches a peak, and subsequently declines. It is crucial to maintain the recommended pressure level of approximately 5 MPa for optimal performance. This pressure level leads to an efficiency of 17.01 % and a coefficient of performance (COP) of 0.16. According to the multi-objective optimization, the optimized system demonstrates a shorter payback period of 3.38 years compared to the baseline system's 4.03 years, despite having higher initial costs. Over a 20-year lifespan, the optimized system is more profitable, surpassing the baseline system by approximately $2.4 million.