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arXiv · 1707.03970

Thermodynamic limit of solar to fuel conversion for generalized photovoltaic-electrochemical system

M. Tahir Patel·M. Ryyan Khan·Muhammad A. Alam
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Abstract

Variability of the energy output throughout the day/night poses a major hurdle to the widespread adoption of photovoltaic systems. An integrated photovoltaic (PV) and electrochemical (EC)-storage system offers a solution, but the thermodynamic efficiency (η_sys) of the integrated system and the optimum configuration needed to realize the limit are known only for a few simple cases, derived though complex numerical simulation. In this paper, we show that a simple, conceptually-transparent, analytical formula can precisely describe the η_sys of a 'generalized' PV-EC integrated system. An M-cell module of N-junction bifacial tandem cells is illuminated under S-suns mounted over ground of albedo R. There are K-EC cells in series, each defined by their reaction potential, exchange current, and Tafel slope. We derive the optimum thermodynamic limit of η_sys(N,M,K,R,S) for all possible combinations of a PV-EC design. For a setup with optimal-(M,K) and large N, under 1-sun illumination and albedo = 0, the ultimate limit for η_sys ~ 52%. The analysis will unify the configuration-specific results published by diverse groups worldwide and define the opportunities for further progress towards the corresponding thermodynamic limit.

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M. Tahir Patel, M. Ryyan Khan, Muhammad A. Alam. 2017-07-22. Thermodynamic limit of solar to fuel conversion for generalized photovoltaic-electrochemical system. https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.03970

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