Efficiency assessment of a photo electrochemical chloralkali process for hydrogen and sodium hydroxide production.

Abstract: In present study, a new reactor configuration is developed which integrates photochemical hydrogen production with an electrochemical chloralkali process. The effects of different parameters on rate of hydrogen, chlorine and sodium hydroxide production are experimentally examined and discussed. The parameters include applied voltage, varied from 4 V to 5 V, amount of catalyst, varied from 1 g/425 mL to 4 g/425 mL, and light intensity, varied from 20 W/m2 to 55 W/m2. Factorial design of experiments is applied and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to analyze the experimental results. Energy and exergy efficiencies are also examined. An optimization study is performed to find the optimal catalyst concentration. An optimized catalyst concentration in salty water is used to examine its effect on the rate of hydrogen production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]