Investigation of a single wall carbon nanohorn-based nanofluid in a full-scale direct absorption parabolic trough solar collector

Year: 2017

Authors: Bortolato M., Dugaria S., Agresti F., Barison S., Fedele L., Sani E., Del Col D.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Padua, Dipartimento Ingn Ind, Via Venezia 1, I-35135 Padua, Italy; Univ Padua, Interdept Ctr Giorgio Levi Cases Energy Econ & Te, Via Francesco Marzolo 9, Padua, Italy; CNR, Inst Condensed Matter Chem & Technol Energy, CNR ICMATE, Corso Stati Uniti 4, Padua, Italy; CNR, Inst Bldg Technol, CNR ITC, Corso Stati Uniti 4, Padua, Italy; CNR, Natl Inst Opt, CNR INO, Largo Enrico Fermi 6, Florence, Italy.

Abstract: An experimental investigation on the use of nanofluids as working fluids and direct absorbers in a full-scale concentrating collector is presented. The nanofluid consists of a suspension of single wall carbon nanohorns in distilled water with a concentration of 0.02 g L-1. The thermo-physical properties are the same as those of the base fluid, but the presence of carbon nanoparticles greatly enhances the optical characteristics. A direct absorption receiver has been designed and set up to investigate the capability of the nanofluid to absorb the concentrated sunlight. The receiver exhibits a flat geometry and has been designed for installation on an asymmetric parabolic trough, where the concentrated solar flux locally reaches 100 kW m-2 under clear-sky conditions. Results show that the application of a carbon nanohorn-based nanofluid in a concentrating collector displays an efficiency comparable to that obtained with a surface receiver tested in the same system. However, such performance is not maintained for a long time because of lack of stability of the absorbing fluid.

Journal/Review: ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT

Volume: 150      Pages from: 693  to: 703

More Information: The financial support of the Interdepartmental Centre “Giorgio Levi Cases” for Energy Economics and Technology of the University of Padova is acknowledged.
KeyWords: Collector efficiency; Nanohorns; Solar collectors; Suspensions (fluids), Concentrating collector; Direct absorption; Experimental investigations; Nanofluids; Parabolic trough; Parabolic trough solar collectors; Single wall carbon nanohorn; Thermo-physical property, Nanofluidics
DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2017.08.044

Citations: 50
data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-11-17
References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)
Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click here
Connecting to view citations from IsiWeb: Click here