Sustainable hydrogen production by integrating solar PV electrolyser and solar evacuated tube collector with hybrid nanoparticles enhanced PCM

The investigation is motivated to analyze the influence of Phase change material (PCM), nano PCMs, and hybrid Nano PCM in sustainable hydrogen production systems. An emerging and highly effective method for hydrogen production involves the use of proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology, which separates water into its constituent parts through electrolysis. Its susceptibility to performance deterioration over time, however, demands routine maintenance and component replacement, which negatively impacts operational effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. In this study, the PEM system for electricity and water heating was integrated with the evacuated tube collector and photovoltaic panel to produce hydrogen. Additionally, hybrid Al2O3 and SiO2 nanoparticles with a combined concentration of 0.1 % in equal shares improved the thermal characteristics of PCM in heat exchangers. The research result shows that the heat exchanger of the ETSC circuit with the hybrid nanoparticles enhanced PCM demonstrated improved thermal performance as well as increased hydrogen production. With hybrid nanoparticles enhanced PCM in the heat exchanger, the maximum energy and electrical energy were observed as 246.5 kWh and 44.7 kWh, respectively. The ETSC efficiency, electrical efficiency, and PEM electrolyser efficiency reached their highest points at 93.1 %, 15.5 %, and 39.2 %, respectively. Furthermore, hybrid nanoparticle-enhanced PCM produces an average of 25.9 g of hydrogen.