Energy supply for water electrolysis systems using wind and solar energy to produce hydrogen: a case study of Iran

Due to acute problems caused by fossil fuels that threaten the environment, conducting research on other types of energy carriers that are clean and renewable is of great importance. Since in the past few years hydrogen has been introduced as the future fuel, the aim of this study is to evaluate wind and solar energy potentials in prone areas of Iran by the Weibull distribution function (WDF) and the Angstrom-Prescott (AP) equation for hydrogen production. To this end, the meteorological data of solar radiation and wind speed recorded at 10 m height in the time interval of 3 h in a five-year period have been used. The findings indicate that Manjil and Zahedan with yearly wind and solar energy densities of 6004 (kWh/m2) and 2247 0cWh/m2), respectively, have the greatest amount of energy among the other cities. After examining three different types of commercial wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) systems, it becomes clear that by utilizing one set of Gamesa G47 turbine, 91 kg/d of hydrogen, which provides energy for 91 car/week, can be produced in Manjil and will save about 1347 L of gasoline in the week. Besides, by installing one thousand sets of X21-345 PV systems in Zahedan, 20 kg/d of hydrogen, enough for 20 cars per week, can be generated and 296 L of gasoline can be saved. Finally, the RETScreen software is used to calculate the annual CO2 emission reduction after replacing gasoline with the produced hydrogen.

Thymus vulgaris L.,Glycyrrhiza glabra or Combo^(®)enzyme in corn vs.barley-based broiler diets

Objective:To test the effect of supplementation of Thymus vulgaris L.(T.vulgaris)or Glycyrrhizaglabra(G.glabra)in corn-soybean meal diets as well as the inclusion of an exogenous enzyme i.e.Combo^(®)in barley-soybean meal diets together with mentioned medicinal plants in broiler diets.Methods:A total of 270 unsexed 1-day-old broiler chickens(Ross 308)was randomly assigned to 6 treatments with 3 replications of 15 birds in each.Diets were comprised of the control(T1),the inclusion of T.vulgaris,G.glabra,their mixture(equal amount),Combo^(®)supplementation(T2,T3,T4 and T5,respectively)in diets based on corn-soybean meal diets and enzyme supplementation plus equal amount of tested medicinal plants(T6)based on barley-soybean meal diets.Medicinal plants and enzyme were included in diets at level 0.5%and 0.2%of diets,respectively.Results:The highest feed intake was obtained by T1 at 1-21 d of age(P<0.05).All diets caused significant increases in weight gain and significant decreases in feed conversion ratio compared to control at this age(P<0.05).Significant reductions were acquired in feed intake by T3 and T6 at 22-42 d of age(P<0.05).All diets significantly decreased total number of aerobic bacteria,coliforms,Gram-negative bacteria and increased lactic acid bacteria compared to control(P<0.05).Conclusions:The results showed that basal diet has vital character to effectiveness of medicinal plants in broiler diets.Beneficial effects on intestinal microflora were brought by use of T.vulgaris L.and G.glabra in corn-based diets or in barley-based diets together with enzyme.Thus,this capability can support growth performance of broiler chickens at lower age.