State of the Art of Techno-Economics of Nanofluid-Laden Flat-Plate Solar Collectors for Sustainable Accomplishment

Abstract

Emerging nanotechnology with solar collector technology has attracted the attention of researchers to enhance the performance of solar systems in order to develop efficient solar thermal systems for future sustainability. This paper chronologically reviews the various research works carried out on the performance enhancement of nanofluid-filled flat-plate solar collectors (FPCs). Gaps in the radiation exergy models and maximum exergy of FPCs, the importance of pressure drops in collector manifolds in exergy analysis, and the economics of nanofluid-laden FPCs have been addressed. The necessity of replacing currently used chemically derived glycol products with a renewable-based glycol has not been reported in the current literature thoroughly, but it is pondered in the current paper. Moreover, the thermophysical properties of all common metal and metal oxide nanoparticles utilized in various studies are collected in this paper for the first time and can be referred to quickly as a data source for future studies. The different classical empirical correlations for the estimation of specific heat, density, conductivity, and viscosity of reported nanofluids and base liquids, i.e., water and its mixture with glycols, are also tabulated as a quick reference. Brief insights on different performance criteria and the utilized models of heat transfer, energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, and economic calculation of nanofluid-based FPCs are extracted. Most importantly, a summary of the current progress in the field of nanofluid-charged FPCs is presented appropriately within two tables. The tables contain the status of the main parameters in different research works. Finally, gaps in the literature are addressed and mitigation approaches are suggested for the future sustainability of nanofluid-laden FPCs.

Jet Impingement Heat Transfer of Confined Single and Double Jets with Non-Newtonian Power Law Nanofluid under the Inclined Magnetic Field Effects for a Partly Curved Heated Wall

“…In one of the offered methods for HT enhancement, nano-sized particles are used in the HT fluid. The nanofluid (NF) technology applications have been installed in many energy systems for HT enhancement, thermal management and applications vary from refrigeration to thermal energy storage [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. During the recent years, many advanced modeling techniques have been developed to simulate the NF behavior in diverse thermal energy configurations [16][17][18][19][20].…”

Review on the Progress of Solar Water Heaters and Their Future Perspectives

“…A collector is the main component in SWH as a heat absorber. Based on its function, the solar thermal collector can be categorized into two major types of stationary and concentrating types, [ 74 ] in which each type can be classified further into different technologies, [ 75 ] as shown in Figure 5 .…”

Carbon Nanotube/Pt Cathode Nanocomposite Electrode in Microbial Fuel Cells for Wastewater Treatment and Bioenergy Production

“…where I denotes the current (amps), R is the external resistance (ohm), V refers to the voltage (V), and P represents the produced power (Watt) of the system [31,32]. The coulombic efficiency (CE) was calculated as the actual current transferred to the maximum current that is obtainable from the system.…”