HYDROGEN PRODUCTION FROM DOMESTIC WASTEWATER USING A SOLAR-POWERED ELECTROLYSIS PROCESS

Abstract

Hydrogen is a promising energy alternative to substitute fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The electrolysis method is one of the most developed methods for hydrogen production. The electrolysis process requires energy, so renewable energy sources such as solar energy can make hydrogen production cleaner and more sustainable. This research aims to find out how much hydrogen is produced from domestic wastewater using an electrolysis process whose electrical energy comes from solar energy. This research used samples of domestic liquid waste from kitchen washing in the canteen at Universitas Proklamasi 45, with equipment in the form of an off-grid solar power generator, a set of electrolysis equipment, as well as a monitoring and measurement system. The yield of hydrogen produced by the electrolysis process of domestic wastewater with varying concentrations of NaOH (0.25 M, 0.5 M, 0.75 M, 1 M, 1.25 M, and 1.5 M). The total amount of hydrogen produced during the electrolysis process increases as the concentration of NaOH does. In the other hand, On the other hand, the best COD removal was obtained under neutral solution pH conditions, namely when NaOH was added with a concentration of 0.01M. The energy savings obtained from using electrical energy for the electrolysis process of domestic liquid waste using solar energy is 25 Wh.