Thermal power plants in Taiwan use seawater electrolysis to produce chlorine to prevent marine organisms from being attached to circulating water cooling system, which produces hydrogen as a by-product. So far, the hydrogen is directly emitted into the atmosphere; however, it may be used as fuel source for fuel cell power generation system – a potential clean power generation technology.
According to the research results, the purity of hydrogen produced by seawater electrolysis is ≥ 50%, and the capacity is about 100m3/hr. However, a small number of gas impurities must be purified to avoid damage to the fuel cell system.
Based on the field measurements at a thermal power plant, after treatment and purification, the hydrogen from seawater electrolysis can be fed to a fuel cell for power generation. It is estimated that the entire seawater electrolysis at the thermal power plant has potential to be used for more than 100 kW fuel cell generation systems.
If the application can be realized and widely adopted by local thermal power plants, it will help advance power generation, reduce carbon emissions, and thus protect the environment.