Hydrogen and renewable energy sources integrated system for greenhouse heating

Abstract

A research is under development at the Department of Agro- Environmental Sciences of the University of Bari “Aldo Moro” in order to investigate the suitable solutions of a power system based on solar energy (photovoltaic) and hydrogen, integrated with a geothermal heat pump for powering a self sustained heated greenhouse. The electrical energy for heat pump operation is provided by a purpose-built array of solar photovoltaic modules, which supplies also a water electrolyser system controlled by embedded pc; the generated dry hydrogen gas is conserved in suitable pressured storage tank. The hydrogen is used to produce electricity in a fuel cell in order to meet the above mentioned heat pump power demand when the photovoltaic system is inactive during winter night-time or the solar radiation level is insufficient to meet the electrical demand. The present work reports some theoretical and observed data about the electrolyzer operation. Indeed the electrolyzer has required particular attention because during the experimental tests it did not show a stable operation and it was registered a performance not properly consistent with the predicted performance by means of the theoretical study.

Photovoltaic and Hydrogen Plant Integrated with a Gas Heat Pump for Greenhouse Heating: A Mathematical Study

“…Greenhouses are one of the most modern expressions of recent agriculture and it is expected that they will increase in number in the future, especially in those areas with hostile climatic conditions [1]. Unfortunately, the investment required to implement a greenhouse environmental control system can be quite high and the energy costs for heating a greenhouse can reach 70% of production costs.…”

Determining Noise and Vibration Exposure in Conifer Cross-Cutting Operations by Using Li-Ion Batteries and Electric Chainsaws

“…Battery-powered chainsaws are able to decrease the number of specific risks, which makes them ideal for use in pruning operations, urban green maintenance, and arboriculture, where occupational hazards are high and it is important to minimize them [38][39][40][41][42][43]. Electric instruments technology has been developed deeply, but is newly introduced in the urban green areas management because of the need to have a relatively high power that is away from the public network [44,45], and present during the total duration of the working day.The recent development of batteries provides a sufficiently high level of power and durability that is suitable for this purpose, with considerably reduced weights compared to older types of battery. Moreover, Lithium-ion batteries could now be recycled with an efficiency of 97% w/w of the valuable battery active materials [46,47].…”

“…Battery-powered chainsaws are able to decrease the number of specific risks, which makes them ideal for use in pruning operations, urban green maintenance, and arboriculture, where occupational hazards are high and it is important to minimize them [38][39][40][41][42][43]. Electric instruments technology has been developed deeply, but is newly introduced in the urban green areas management because of the need to have a relatively high power that is away from the public network [44,45], and present during the total duration of the working day.…”

Hazards assessment and technical actions due to the production of pressured hydrogen within a pilot photovoltaic-electrolyser-fuel cell power system for agricultural equipment

“…The study is going on at the experimental farm of the University of Bari (latitude 41° 01' 12.2" N,longitude 16° 54' 16.3" E), where a pilot power system integrated with a greenhouse composed of photovoltaic panels, an alkaline electrolyser bank, fuel cell stacks, a plastic greenhouse and a geothermal heat pump were designed and set up (Figure 1). The electricity coming from the solar photovoltaic source (PV) feeds the water electrolyser and the produced hydrogen is then stored in a pressured tank (Blanco et al, 2013). When the PV is inactive (during night time or overcast sky), H2 is consumed by the fuel cell producing electricity based on the greenhouse energy demands (Blanco et al, 2014).…”