Development of a solar PV integrated water electrolyzer system for solid municipal waste incinerator / Osama Majeed Butt

Osama Majeed , Butt (2023) Development of a solar PV integrated water electrolyzer system for solid municipal waste incinerator / Osama Majeed Butt. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

The drive towards sustainable future warrants deep decarburization of all the energy and non-energy sectors. In this regards, an attempt has been made to decarbonize municipal solid waste (MSW) management sector using green hydrogen. A systematic study has been conducted to investigate the feasibility of hydrogen as a primary combustion fuel for thermal treatment of MSW i.e., incineration. Various strategies i.e., (1) coupling of solar photovoltaics (PV) with battery and electrolyzer and (2) direct coupling of electrolyzer with PV have been tried and investigated to provide hydrogen to the incinerator. Furthermore, active on-demand electrical sparking mechanism (auto-ignition) and use of secondary electrolyzer with optimum battery storage approaches have also been identified and investigated. Moreover, comparative techno-economics of strategies have also been assessed. A high reduction in weight percent of MSW i.e., 86-94%, and loss on ignition (1.74%-6.41%) have been observed for MSW containing 60-80% moisture content with the use of hydrogen as primary fuel. This is due to high flame temperature, uniform heat distribution and less radiation losses which is a characteristic property of hydrogen flame. In terms of energy consumption, PV + Battery system consumed 42.42% and 15.07% less energy compared to auto-ignition and PV + Secondary-Electrolyzer system. Moreover, in terms of energy required to remove moisture, PV + Battery system used 80% less energy, while auto-ignition and PV + Secondary-Electrolyzer showed 70.5% and 77.5% less energy respectively. However, the initial capital cost of PV + battery system has been calculated to be 15.4% and 11.8% more compared to auto-ignition and PV + Secondary-Electrolyzer system respectively. Further, in terms of cost benefit for longer run, PV +Battery system has been calculated to be 73.3% and 23.3% more expensive than auto-ignition and PV + Secondary electrolyzer method respectively assuming 30year of life span.

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