Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
5-8-2024 1:00 PM
End Date
5-8-2024 3:00 PM
Subjects
Environmental engineering, Photovoltaic power generation
Advisor
Ilke Celik
Student Level
Doctoral
Abstract
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) and photovoltaic-electrochemical (PV-EC) water-splitting technologies have emerged as cost-effective options for large-scale green hydrogen production in industrial applications. Solar to hydrogen (STH) efficiencies of these technologies have reached up to 20% and several pathways have been explored to drive down the cost of hydrogen using these technologies to less than $2/kg. However, the environmental impact assessment of these technologies for industry-scale deployment has not been explored in previous studies. This study assesses the environmental impacts of PEC and PV-EC technologies by conducting a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment. The functional unit considered for this assessment is 1 kg of hydrogen produced from these technologies. The environmental impacts of these technologies have been assessed across ten mid-point impact categories: acidification (kg SO2-eq.), ecotoxicity (CTUe), eutrophication (kg Neq), GWP (kg CO2-eq), human toxicity (CTUh), cancer and non-cancer, human health particular air (kg PM2.5-eq), resources-fossil fuels (MJ surplus energy), ozone depletion (kg CFC11eq), and smog (kg O3-eq). Energy performance indicators such as energy payback time (EPBT) and energy return on investment (EROI) are also additionally analyzed in this study.
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Hydrogen Production via Various PV-Assisted Electrochemical Water Splitting Techniques
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) and photovoltaic-electrochemical (PV-EC) water-splitting technologies have emerged as cost-effective options for large-scale green hydrogen production in industrial applications. Solar to hydrogen (STH) efficiencies of these technologies have reached up to 20% and several pathways have been explored to drive down the cost of hydrogen using these technologies to less than $2/kg. However, the environmental impact assessment of these technologies for industry-scale deployment has not been explored in previous studies. This study assesses the environmental impacts of PEC and PV-EC technologies by conducting a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment. The functional unit considered for this assessment is 1 kg of hydrogen produced from these technologies. The environmental impacts of these technologies have been assessed across ten mid-point impact categories: acidification (kg SO2-eq.), ecotoxicity (CTUe), eutrophication (kg Neq), GWP (kg CO2-eq), human toxicity (CTUh), cancer and non-cancer, human health particular air (kg PM2.5-eq), resources-fossil fuels (MJ surplus energy), ozone depletion (kg CFC11eq), and smog (kg O3-eq). Energy performance indicators such as energy payback time (EPBT) and energy return on investment (EROI) are also additionally analyzed in this study.