Scalable and Multi-Channel Real-Time Low Cost Monitoring System for PEM Electrolyzers Based on IoT Applications
This paper discusses and evaluates a novel multi-channel real-time architecture aimed at monitoring a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, both at the individual cell and stack levels. The proposed solution includes two primary subsystems: a hardware subsystem dedicated to data acquisition (...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Electronics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/13/2/296 |
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| author | Ana Belén Paredes-Baños Angel Molina-Garcia Antonio Mateo-Aroca José Javier López-Cascales |
| author_facet | Ana Belén Paredes-Baños Angel Molina-Garcia Antonio Mateo-Aroca José Javier López-Cascales |
| author_sort | Ana Belén Paredes-Baños |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper discusses and evaluates a novel multi-channel real-time architecture aimed at monitoring a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, both at the individual cell and stack levels. The proposed solution includes two primary subsystems: a hardware subsystem dedicated to data acquisition (DAQ) and a software subsystem focused on monitoring purposes. The DAQ subsystem utilizes an Arduino platform, being an affordable and open-source solution. The real-time monitoring data can be encoded in JSON format, widely used as a light-weight inter-exchange data format between a variety of IoT applications. They are also available to be transferred to Excel. Indeed, and to enhance convenience, the proposed system integrates graphs displaying a template based on Excel spreadsheets, which are commonly used in industrial environments. The current, voltage, temperature, and pressure data of both individual cells and stacks were monitored and collected, being configurable under a variety of ranges. As a case study, the validation of the system involved static and dynamic operational modes using a 1.2 kW PEM electrolyzer prototype (100 A, 1 A/cm<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>). The results successfully provided the monitored variables across individual cells and within the stack. The proposed approach exhibits relevant key characteristics such as scalability, flexibility, user-friendliness, versatility, and affordability and are suitable to monitor PEM electrolyzers in real-time at both the cell and stack levels. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:59:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a84b698e9d0846d8a09ce10fa8d08f82 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:59:25Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electronics |
| spelling | doaj.art-a84b698e9d0846d8a09ce10fa8d08f822024-01-26T16:13:13ZengMDPI AGElectronics2079-92922024-01-0113229610.3390/electronics13020296Scalable and Multi-Channel Real-Time Low Cost Monitoring System for PEM Electrolyzers Based on IoT ApplicationsAna Belén Paredes-Baños0Angel Molina-Garcia1Antonio Mateo-Aroca2José Javier López-Cascales3Department of Automatics, Electrical Engineering and Electronic Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30202 Cartagena, SpainDepartment of Automatics, Electrical Engineering and Electronic Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30202 Cartagena, SpainDepartment of Automatics, Electrical Engineering and Electronic Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30202 Cartagena, SpainDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30203 Cartagena, SpainThis paper discusses and evaluates a novel multi-channel real-time architecture aimed at monitoring a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, both at the individual cell and stack levels. The proposed solution includes two primary subsystems: a hardware subsystem dedicated to data acquisition (DAQ) and a software subsystem focused on monitoring purposes. The DAQ subsystem utilizes an Arduino platform, being an affordable and open-source solution. The real-time monitoring data can be encoded in JSON format, widely used as a light-weight inter-exchange data format between a variety of IoT applications. They are also available to be transferred to Excel. Indeed, and to enhance convenience, the proposed system integrates graphs displaying a template based on Excel spreadsheets, which are commonly used in industrial environments. The current, voltage, temperature, and pressure data of both individual cells and stacks were monitored and collected, being configurable under a variety of ranges. As a case study, the validation of the system involved static and dynamic operational modes using a 1.2 kW PEM electrolyzer prototype (100 A, 1 A/cm<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>). The results successfully provided the monitored variables across individual cells and within the stack. The proposed approach exhibits relevant key characteristics such as scalability, flexibility, user-friendliness, versatility, and affordability and are suitable to monitor PEM electrolyzers in real-time at both the cell and stack levels.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/13/2/296low cost monitoringIoT applicationsPEM electrolyzersmonitoring |
| spellingShingle | Ana Belén Paredes-Baños Angel Molina-Garcia Antonio Mateo-Aroca José Javier López-Cascales Scalable and Multi-Channel Real-Time Low Cost Monitoring System for PEM Electrolyzers Based on IoT Applications Electronics low cost monitoring IoT applications PEM electrolyzers monitoring |
| title | Scalable and Multi-Channel Real-Time Low Cost Monitoring System for PEM Electrolyzers Based on IoT Applications |
| title_full | Scalable and Multi-Channel Real-Time Low Cost Monitoring System for PEM Electrolyzers Based on IoT Applications |
| title_fullStr | Scalable and Multi-Channel Real-Time Low Cost Monitoring System for PEM Electrolyzers Based on IoT Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scalable and Multi-Channel Real-Time Low Cost Monitoring System for PEM Electrolyzers Based on IoT Applications |
| title_short | Scalable and Multi-Channel Real-Time Low Cost Monitoring System for PEM Electrolyzers Based on IoT Applications |
| title_sort | scalable and multi channel real time low cost monitoring system for pem electrolyzers based on iot applications |
| topic | low cost monitoring IoT applications PEM electrolyzers monitoring |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/13/2/296 |
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