Open AccessDevelopment and Performance Analysis of a Low-Cost Hydrogen Generation System Using Locally Available Materials
Author(s) -
Gour Chand Mazumder,
SM Nasif Shams,
Md. Habibur Rahman,
Syed Saimul Huque
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the dhaka university journal of science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2408-8528
pISSN - 1022-2502
DOI - 10.3329/dujs.v68i1.54597
Subject(s) - electrolysis , separator (oil production) , hydrogen production , hydrogen , polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis , electrolysis of water , high pressure electrolysis , fuel cells , renewable energy , process engineering , materials science , chemical engineering , electrode , chemistry , waste management , electrical engineering , engineering , electrolyte , physics , organic chemistry , thermodynamics
In this paper, a low-cost water electrolyzer is developed and its performance study is presented. Locally found materials are used to develop the electrolyzer. The electrolyzer has two cells connected in parallel and bipolar electrode configuration. In common, different cells are connected in series but for this electrolyzer parallel connection has been tested. A very thin polymer, Nylon-140 has been used as separator membranes for this electrolyzer. In separator membrane assembly, the designed geometry creates two separate gas channels internally which enables the direct collection of hydrogen and oxygen gas from the designated outlet port of the electrolyzer. The geometry excludes the need of external tubing into each cell-compartments to collect hydrogen and oxygen separately. The developed electrolyzer is found to be 42% efficient with its highest production rate of 227.27 mL/min. The purity of hydrogen is found to be more than 92% and justified with the burn test. The cost is 20 times less than the commercial electrolyzers. The development method and scheme can be helpful to popularize the small scale use of hydrogen in Bangladesh for various renewable energy applications.
Dhaka Univ. J. Sci. 68(1): 49-56, 2020 (January)