Coffee-based colloids for direct solar absorption

Year: 2019

Authors: Alberghini M., Morciano M., Bergamasco L., Fasano M., Lavagna L., Humbert G., Sani E., Pavese M., Chiavazzo E., Asinari P.

Autors Affiliation: Politecn Torino, Dept Energy, Corso Duca Abruzzi 24, I-10129 Turin, Italy; Politecn Torino, Dept Appl Sci & Technol, Corso Duca Abruzzi 24, I-10129 Turin, Italy; CNR, CNR INO, Natl Inst Opt, Largo E Fermi 6, I-50125 Florence, Italy.

Abstract: Despite their promising thermo-physical properties for direct solar absorption, carbon-based nanocolloids present some drawbacks, among which the unpleasant property of being potentially cytotoxic and harmful to the environment. In this work, a sustainable, stable and inexpensive colloid based on coffee is synthesized and its photo-thermal properties investigated. The proposed colloid consists of distilled water, Arabica coffee, glycerol and copper sulphate, which provide enhanced properties along with biocompatibility. The photo-thermal performance of the proposed fluid for direct solar absorption is analysed for different dilutions and compared with that of a traditional flat-plate collector. Tailor-made collectors, opportunely designed and realized via 3D-printing technique, were used for the experimental tests. The results obtained in field conditions, in good agreement with two different proposed models, show similar performance of the volumetric absorption using the proposed coffee-based colloids as compared to the classical systems based on a highly-absorbing surface. These results may encourage further investigations on simple, biocompatible and inexpensive colloids for direct solar absorption.

Journal/Review: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS

Volume: 9      Pages from: 4701-1  to: 4701-11

More Information: We acknowledge Davide Lizzi, Ali Khodayari and Maurizio Bressan (DENERG) for their technical support in the experiments. We also acknowledge Silvia Pezzana (ALMECO) for providing the experimental materials. P.A., E.C. and M.F. would like to acknowledge the NANOSTEP project (NANOfluid based direct Solar absorption for Thermal Energy and water Purification) funded by the Fondazione CRT, Torino.
KeyWords: Solar absorption; CSP; biocompatible colloids; coffee; concentrating solar power; solar energy; solar absorbers; direct absorption solar collectors; DASC
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39032-5

Citations: 30
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