In this paper, an attempt has been made to propose a multi-commodity cold storage to store a variety of high value perishable commodities round the year. To maintain the favorable micro-climate inside the cold storage space for the selected commodities, a cooling system based on double-effect vapor absorption cycle has been developed. To meet the year-round thermal and electrical load of the proposed cold storage, a solar thermal-PV-based hybrid power system has been designed. A computer program in MATLAB-R2017a has been developed to predict the year-round performance of the proposed system for a complete calendar year for the climatic condition of Kolkata, India (22.57∘N, 88.36∘E). An exergy analysis of the proposed system has also been included in the study. Finally, a life cycle cost analysis of the integrated solar hybrid power system has been performed to estimate its payback period. The study reveals that the mutual generation from 45 numbers of parabolic trough collectors along with 225 numbers of SPV modules is sufficient to meet the year-round energy demand of the proposed cold storage. The study thus reinforces the need and viability of double-effect VAR system-based multi-commodity cold storage powered through solar energy for developing countries like India, where significant amount of agricultural production gets wasted due to inadequate warehousing facilities.
Most of the existing cold storages of the developing countries are dedicated toward storage of a single commodity due to which they remain underutilized for a considerable part of a year. In this paper, a conceptual design of multi-commodity cold storage has been discussed to store three high-value perishable commodities for different periods of a calendar year for round the year utilization of the cold storage facility. A cooling system based on the lithium bromide-water absorption system has been designed to maintain a favorable inside microclimate. A solar thermal-photovoltaic-based hybrid power system has been designed to meet the thermal and electrical loads of the system. The performance of the cold storage system has been analyzed using a thermal model for a complete calendar year for the climatic condition of Kolkata, India. A life-cycle cost analysis of the power system has also been carried out. The study revealed that the product load contributes toward 70% of the cooling load during the months of product loading. It is also observed that forty-six numbers of parabolic trough collectors along with two hundred seventy-five numbers of SPV modules of 150 Wp each can meet the major fraction of the load on an annual basis. The economic analysis revealed that the payback period of the integrated power system is only 6.22 years. The study thus reinforces the viability of solar-powered multi-commodity cold storages for the developing countries of the world both from the technical and economic point of view. Keywords Cold storage • Multi-commodity • SPV • PTC • LiBr-H 2 O List of symbols C Cost (INR) c p Specific heat (kJ/kg K) f Heat transfer coefficient (W/m 2 K) G Irradiance (W/m 2 ) h Specific enthalpy (kJ/kg) k Thermal conductivity (W/mK) m Mass flow rate (kg/s) N Number of persons/number of air changes Q Rate of heat transfer (kW) V Volume flow rate (m 3 /s) X Concentration of LiBr in solution (%) Greek symbols Emissivity Intercept factor Density/reflectivity Transmissivity Stefan-Boltzmann constant (W/m 2 K 4 ) Efficiency
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