HEAT TRANSFER ANALYSIS OF A PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL HYDROGEN GENERATION REACTOR

摘要

The heat transfer and flow characteristics of a photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen generation reactor are investigated numerically. Solar irradiation is separated spectrally into long and short wavelength parts depending on the energy band gap of the photoelectrode used. The high energy part is directed to the anode to generate electron and hole pair, and the low energy part is used to heat the reactor. The results of this investigation proved that the use of the excess long wave energy to heat up the reactor increases the hydrogen production rate. Lowering the energy band gap also increases the hydrogen production rate. Staggering the electrodes helps to increase the production rate, especially for large energy band gaps when most of the solar insolation is used for heating.