Comprehensive Assessment on the Use of Boron Nitride-Based Nanofluids Comprising Eutectic Mixtures of Diphenyl Ether and Menthol for Enhanced Thermal Media

Abstract

The current work explores deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as heat transfer fluids (HTFs) primarily for generating concentrated solar power. The eutectic composition of the DES comprising diphenyl ether and DL-menthol as the hydrogen bond acceptor and hydrogen bond donor was initially computed through the quantum chemical-based COSMO-SAC model. To improve upon the thermal performance and reduce the interfacial resistance, DESs were modified by dispersing hexagonal boron nitride nanoparticles with weight percent ranging from 0.02 to 0.10. Thermophysical properties, namely, density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity, of the HTFs were then measured as a function of temperature. Further, based on these four parameters, the Mouromtseff number (Mo) was calculated to rank the nanoparticle-dispersed DESs. The nanofluid consisting of DES-1 with 0.02 wt % of nanoparticles gave the highest Mo value, and hence, it was further considered for the experimental forced convection study and process simulation using an Aspen Plus simulator. From the forced convection experiment temperature profiles, the heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number (Nu) were evaluated and compared for nanofluids with the corresponding base fluid. The flow behavior of the thermal fluid along the characteristic length of the test section was investigated for both the laminar and turbulent regimes. The effectiveness of the HTF in terms of steam generation capacity was predicted, and it was observed that the nanofluid with 0.02 wt % was able to successfully convert 100% of the input water (15 kg/h) into superheated steam at the temperature of 494.15 K.

Deep Eutectic Solvents in Solar Energy Technologies

“…For these reasons, P. Dehury et al have published several works investigating different DESs as potential heat transfer fluids in the last three years [ 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 ]. In 2018, they started from the study of a dl -menthol/oleic acid 1:1 DES and, in order to improve the performance, also added different concentrations of nano-Al 2 O 3 (70-nm diameter) to obtain 4 different nanoparticle-dispersed DESs (NDDESs) (0.001, 0.005, 0.0075, 0.01 volume fractions) [ 89 ].…”

“…In their latest publication, Dehury completed the study of the previously described dl -menthol/oleyl alcohol 1:1 DES ( dl -M/OlOH) by adding 0.02%, 0.05% and 0.1% w / w hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanoparticles (80-nm diameter) and compared it with a novel diphenyl ether + dl -menthol 1:1.2 DES (DPE/ dl -M), pure or with h-BN nanoparticles [ 92 ]. As usual, the thermophysical properties study started from density evaluation.…”

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Inorganic Materials Using Environmentally Friendly Media

“…Furthermore, CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide), which combines with acetic acid in a 1:1 mass ratio to create a liquid mixture, was used for the formation of ceria nanoparticles with remarkable photocatalytic activity by Iqbal and coworkers [ 126 , 127 ]. Other sugar-based DESs similar to those cited above—namely, dl-menthol:oleyl alcohol 1:1.2—were employed to prepare an NDDES (nano dispersed DES) mixture containing boron nitride nanoparticles, with excellent properties as a heat-transfer nanofluid [ 128 ]. A comprehensive survey on the use of DES as a base fluid for heat-transfer nanofluids can be found in [ 29 ].…”

Evaluation of Thermophysical Properties and Thermal Performance of Amine-Functionalized Graphene Oxide/Deep Eutectic Solvent Nanofluids as Heat-Transfer Media for Desalination Systems

“…Solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar power (CSP) are the two main industrial systems for gathering solar energy. Depending on the temperature, solar energy may be used for a variety of different purposes . Modern solar power systems necessitate high operating temperatures as well as thermal-storage systems.…”

“…The present paper examined the use of DES as a thermal fluid for solar desalination applications and measured the thermal performance parameter of the brine recirculation MSF (BR-MSF) desalination system in terms of gained output ratio (GOR). Dehury et al previously documented the synthesis and characteristics of all elements in the DES as a heat-transfer fluid. The DES is a combination of diphenyl ether [hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA)] and DL-menthol [hydrogen bond donor (HBD)] in the molar ratio of 1:1.…”