Zeiny, A, Jin, H, Bai, L et al. (2 more authors) (2018) A comparative study of direct absorption nanofluids for solar thermal applications. Solar Energy, 161. pp. 74-82. ISSN 0038-092X
Abstract
Direct absorption nanofluid has been introduced as an effective alternative to increase solar thermal conversion efficiency. Hybrid nanofluids were also recently proposed to broaden the absorption spectrum. However, a comparative assessment of the performance of commonly used nanomaterials for solar energy harness is still lacking. In this study, a well-controlled experiment was performed using three different categorised nanofluids, i.e., gold, copper, carbon black nanofluids and their hybrids, to assess their performance in terms of photothermal conversion efficiency (PTE), specific absorption rate (SAR) and materials cost. A mathematical model was built based on the Beer's law to predict the PTE enhancement. The results revealed, contrary to previously reported, the PTE was not increased by blending different nanofluids with different absorbance peaks, which is mainly due to the dilution of nanoparticles’ concentration. Furthermore, it is found that although gold nanofluids have high SAR, their expensive cost limits their practical use, whereas carbon black nanofluids are more feasible. In addition it was found that the theoretical PTE can be well predicted mathematically based on the optical properties of the used nanofluids.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2017, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Solar Energy. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Direct absorption; Nanofluids; Nanoparticle; Solar energy; Solar thermal system |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 23 Feb 2018 16:21 |
Last Modified: | 04 Jan 2019 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.solener.2017.12.037 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:127824 |