Influence of the power supply on the energy efficiency of an alkaline water electrolyser
Fecha
2009Autor
Versión
Acceso abierto / Sarbide irekia
Tipo
Artículo / Artikulua
Versión
Versión aceptada / Onetsi den bertsioa
Impacto
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10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.02.017
Resumen
Electric energy consumption represents the greatest part of the cost of the hydrogen
produced by water electrolysis. An effort is being carried out to reduce this electric
consumption and improve the global efficiency of commercial electrolysers. Whereas
relevant progresses are being achieved in cell stack configurations and electrodes performance, there are practically no studies on the effec ...
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Electric energy consumption represents the greatest part of the cost of the hydrogen
produced by water electrolysis. An effort is being carried out to reduce this electric
consumption and improve the global efficiency of commercial electrolysers. Whereas
relevant progresses are being achieved in cell stack configurations and electrodes performance, there are practically no studies on the effect of the electric power supply topology
on the electrolyser energy efficiency. This paper presents an analysis on the energy
consumption and efficiency of a 1 N m3 h1 commercial alkaline water electrolyser and
their dependence on the power supply topology. The different topologies of power supplies
are first summarised, analysed and classified into two groups: thyristor-based (ThPS) and
transistor-based power supplies (TrPS). An Electrolyser Power Supply Emulator (EPSE) is
then designed, developed and satisfactorily validated by means of simulation and experimental tests. With the EPSE, the electrolyser is characterised both obtaining its I–V curves
for different temperatures and measuring the useful hydrogen production. The electrolyser
is then supplied by means of two different emulated electric profiles that are characteristic
of typical ThPS and TrPS. Results show that the cell stack energy consumption is up to
495 W h N m3 lower when it is supplied by the TrPS, which means 10% greater in terms of
efficiency. [--]
Materias
Alkaline water electrolyser,
Electrolyser power supply,
Hydrogen systems,
Energy efficiency
Editor
Elsevier
Publicado en
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 34 (2009) 3221–3233
Departamento
Universidad Pública de Navarra. Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Electrónica /
Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa eta Elektronikoa Saila /
Universidad Pública de Navarra. Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de Materiales /
Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Mekanika, Energetika eta Materialen Ingeniaritza Saila /
Universidad Pública de Navarra. Departamento de Química Aplicada /
Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Kimika Aplikatua Saila
Versión del editor
Entidades Financiadoras
We gratefully acknowledge Acciona Biocombustibles and Ingeteam, and particularly Mr. Eugenio Guelbenzu and Mr. Javier Pérez, for their financial and permanent support. We also acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (grant number DPI2006-15703-C02-02) and the Department of Education of the Government of Navarra for their financial support.