Modeling and Feasibility Study of Solar Hydrogen Harvesting System Using Seawater

Solar hydrogen harvesting system converts the solar irradiance collected and stored in the form of compressed hydrogen instead of charges in batteries. Furthermore, oxygen released during the electrolysis process is a nonpolluting element. In this paper we present the feasibility study of solar hydrogen harvesting system using seawater instead of clean water to produces compressed hydrogen. Besides, the system is going to be built on off shore thus it can avoid deforesting. In this system, solar irradiance collected is firstly used to pump the seawater, and then follow by distillation process of seawater. Clean water obtained will be directed into electrolysis chamber for undergo electrolysis to produce hydrogen. Produced hydrogen is then store in compress form. The system modeling, overall process flow chart and total system efficiency are study and described. Results from the study shows that the total system efficiency is about 5%. From the efficiency, the feasibility of the system is studied and it shows a slow return of 13.5 years.