Development and multi-criteria optimization of a solar thermal power plant integrated with PEM electrolyzer and thermoelectric generator

This study investigates a novel solar-driven energy system for co-generating power, hydrogen, oxygen, and hot water. In the proposed system, parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) are used as the heat source of cascaded power cycles, i.e., steam and organic Rankine cycles (SRC and ORC). While the electricity produced by the SRC is supplied to the grid, the energy output of the ORC is used to drive an electrolyzer for hydrogen production. In addition, the use of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) using heat rejected from the ORC condenser for supplying additional electricity to the electrolyzer is investigated. A multi-objective optimization based on the genetic algorithm approach is carried out to estimate the optimal results for the proposed system. The specific cost of the system product and exergy efficiency are the chosen objective parameters to be minimized and maximized, respectively. The results show that, for the optimal system with the TEG, the specific cost of the system product and the exergy efficiency are 30.2$/GJ and 21.9%, respectively, and the produced hydrogen rate is 2.906 kg/h. The results also show that using a TEG increases efficiency and reduces the specific cost of system product. For having the most realistic interpretation of the investigations, the performance of the proposed system is investigated for four cities in Khuzestan province in Iran. • To propose a novel integrated system based on solar energy. • The proposed system is optimized by multi-objective genetic algorithm. • Produce hydrogen using PEM electrolysis. • Exergy efficiency is 21.91% at TOPSIS point.