A review of hybridization of water and hydrogen production in solar multigeneration systems

Abstract

Multigeneration systems have huge potential in solving many of the energy and environmental challenges faced globally. This review investigated the production of power, freshwater, and hydrogen from multigeneration systems powered by solar energy. Furthermore, the hybridization of different production cycles and their effect on overall system performance was assessed. The investigation was also expanded to include systems utilizing differing energy sources in addition to solar. Most of the proposed processes underwent thermodynamic, economic, environmental, parametric, and optimization analyses to understand their performance. This included exploring the influence of various environmental and design factors such as solar radiation and wind speed on system performance. Comparing performance metrics across different studies was difficult due to the deployment of varying indicators by different studies and the site-specific nature of the results obtained. However, the levelized costs whose values are comparable across studies ranged between 16 and 20 for solar multigeneration systems depending on various system attributes. Those included choice of energy sources, products, and components utilized which differed across studies due to a multitude of factors including climatic conditions, renewable energy availability, and demand patterns. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first review to focus specifically on solar-driven multigeneration systems that concurrently produce power, freshwater, and hydrogen, synthesizing both thermodynamic and techno-economic perspectives across a range of configurations.

Keywords: Polygeneration, Desalination, Hydrogen Production, Power Production, Simulation, Optimization