Thermoeconomic analysis of a hybrid PVT solar system integrated with double effect absorption chiller for cooling/hydrogen production

A novel solar-based combined system which is consisting of a concentrated PV, a double effect LiBr-H2O absorption chiller, and a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) is proposed for hydrogen production. A portion of the received energy is recovered to run a double effect absorption chiller and the rest is turned into electricity, being consumed in the PEM electrolyzer for hydrogen production. The thermodynamic and thermoeconomic analyses are performed to understand the system performance. A parametric study which is implementing Engineering Equation Solver (EES) is carried out to assess the influence of main decision parameters on the overall exergy efficiency and total product unit cost. The 2nd law analysis shows that PVT with exergy destruction rate of 76.9% of total destruction rate is the major source of irreversibility. Furthermore, in the cooling system, Cooling Set (CS) has the highest exergy destruction rate due to the dissipative components. Exergoeconomic results demonstrate that in cooling set with the lowest value of exergoeconomic factor, the cost of exergy destruction and loss has the major effect on the overall cost rate. Furthermore, results of the parametric study indicate that by decreasing PV cell’s temperature from 100 °C to 160 °C, the total product unit cost is decreased by about 1.94 $/GJ.