Generation of Solar Hydrogen Gas Energy from Water Splitting Process as an Alternative to Fossil Fuel

Abstract

Hydrogen is a promising fuel, can be obtained from different sources of raw materials, including water. Water is a renewable, abundant and sustainable source, which can produce high hydrogen purity via electrolysis. The aim of this study is to produce clean hydrogen energy gas and breathable oxygen gas from water splitting process as an alternative to fossil fuels in a newly developed photo-electrochemical electrolyzer. The photo-electrochemical electrolyzer is of dimension 24 cm by 42 cm by 28 cm, designed and fabricated with 10-plate stainless-steel electrode. The electrolyzer was connected upwardly to gas storage container, dc compressor and a gas cylinder. The designed electrolyzer was further connected to a 12 V 9 Ah battery and two-100W solar panels. A mixture of 8 L of water and 160 g of NaOH was charged into the electrolyzer after which electrolysis process commenced. The process was left for 5 days. Within these time, hydrogen and oxygen gases were produced simultaneously and collected by upward method. The produced gases were compressed by high pressured gas cylinders respectively. Voltage and current supplied by solar panels to the electrolyzer were monitored. The maximum and minimum voltage and current reading ranged from 2.11 – 13.57 V and 1.05 -7.53 A respectively. This study revealed that high voltage and near constant amperage readings will produce more hydrogen gas than low voltage readings. The weight of hydrogen produced after 5 days of observations was 1.84 kg. This study established that hydrogen can be produced abundantly through the new fabricated photo-electrolyzer and replace fossil fuels to create a clean and green global environment.