Analysis of solar hydrogen production in Algeria: Case of an electrolyzer-concentrating photovoltaic system

作者：Boudries R^*

来源：International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2013, 38(26): 11507-11518.

DOI：10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.04.136

• Algeria
• Hydrogen production
• Electrolysis
• Concentrating photovoltaic system
• Fresnel mirrors
• Parabolic trough

The use of renewable energy and more particularly solar energy in hydrogen production is considered the most viable and the most environment protective. Electricity is required for water electrolysis to produce hydrogen. As photovoltaic modules enable the direct conversion of solar energy into electricity, photovoltaic systems are then the most indicated systems for this task. <br xmlns:set="http://exslt.org/sets">Algeria is richly endowed with renewable energy resources particularly solar energy. This situation makes Algeria an excellent place for the production of hydrogen using renewable energy.
In the present work, particular attention is paid to the production of hydrogen from solar energy. The aim is to evaluate the potential of hydrogen energy production using an electrolyzer-concentrating photovoltaic system for different sites in Algeria.
First the perspective of solar energy development, in light of the present energy situation in Algeria is discussed. Taking into consideration the availability of resources, the meteorological and radiation conditions, the advances in PV, tracking and electrolyzer technologies, different parameters are then used to determine the potential of hydrogen production in different sites.
The results are reported and discussed. The potential at different locations in Algeria is determined. An inter-comparison between different technologies is carried out. For the system with the Fresnel reflector, the results show that the mean value over the country of the hydrogen production potential per unit cell area is about 0.14 kg H-2/m(2) day for the least favorable month; while this value is about 0.19 kg H-2/m(2) day for the most favorable month. For the system with the parabolic trough reflector, these values are about 0.10 kg H-2/m(2) day for the least favorable month and about 0.17 kg H-2/m(2) day for the most favorable month. Results show that electrolyzer-concentrating photovoltaic system is more appropriate for large scale production of hydrogen.

• 出版日期2013-8-30