Comprehensive assessment of photovoltaic and photovoltaic–thermal driven green hydrogen systems: Influence of latitude and operating conditions on energy, exergy, economic, and carbon performance
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, cilt.254, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 254
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.156326
- Dergi Adı: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Artic & Antarctic Regions, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, Environment Index, INSPEC, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Carbon emissions, Electricity and hydrogen production, Energy and exergy performance, Proton exchange membrane technology, Solar energy, Techno-economic evaluation
- Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This paper presents a comparative evaluation of photovoltaic–proton exchange membrane and photovoltaic–thermal–proton exchange membrane integrated configurations, assessing their energy and exergy performances along with monthly electricity and hydrogen production, carbon mitigation potential, and indicative economic indicators. Using Engineering Equation Solver simulations for July, representative of high insolation conditions in Mersin, Ankara, and Istanbul, three latitudes (36.06°, 39.58°, 41.10°) were analyzed and, for photovoltaic–thermal systems, three cooling water mass flow rates (0.3, 0.4, 0.5 kg/s) were considered. The highest monthly electricity output is obtained with the photovoltaic–thermal system at 36.06° with 0.5 kg/s (11.19 GJ), while the lowest occurs for photovoltaic–proton exchange membrane system at 41.10° (9.25 GJ). Hydrogen production peaks for photovoltaic–thermal–proton exchange membrane system at 36.06° with 0.5 kg/s (53.26 kg) and reaches its minimum for photovoltaic–proton exchange membrane system at 41.10° (44.57 kg). In terms of thermodynamic performance, lowest energy and exergy efficiencies are observed for the photovoltaic–proton exchange membrane system at 36.06° (7.40% and 7.82%), whereas the highest values are recorded for the photovoltaic–thermal–proton exchange membrane system at 41.10° with 0.5 kg/s (49.05% and 9.67%). Environmentally, the photovoltaic–thermal–proton exchange membrane system at 36.06° and 0.5 kg/s yields the greatest monthly carbon dioxide abatement (2272.75 kg), while the standalone photovoltaic–proton exchange membrane system at 41.10° exhibits the lowest (1037.41 kg). The economic proxy ranges from $249.21 to $291.25 for the photovoltaic–proton exchange membrane system and increases to $416.51-$534.50 for the photovoltaic–thermal system, depending on latitude and flow rate. In addition, parametric analyses were conducted for coolant mass flow rates between 0.1 and 1 kg/s under average July solar irradiation conditions, while broader seasonal analyses under cooled (0.5 kg/s) and uncooled conditions were performed for January, April, and October. The results indicate that the levelized cost of energy and hydrogen increase with latitude; for the photovoltaic–thermal–proton exchange membrane system, the levelized cost of energy increased from 0.043 to 0.059 $/kWh and the levelized cost of hydrogen from 2.22 to 2.99 $/kg. Overall, active cooling significantly improves electricity generation, thermodynamic performance, hydrogen production, environmental benefits, and economic feasibility, whereas increasing latitude negatively affects overall system performance.