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

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41933

Share

COinS
 
May 8th, 1:00 PM May 8th, 3:00 PM

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.