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

Seyed Reza Shamshirgaran, Hussain Al-Kayiem, Korada V. Sharma and Mostafa Ghasemi
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Seyed Reza Shamshirgaran: Department of Renewable Energy Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran 1983969411, Iran
Korada V. Sharma: Mechanical Engineering Department, JNTUH College of Engineering, Telangana 500085, India
Mostafa Ghasemi: Chemical Engineering Section, Sohar University, Sohar 311, Oman

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-52

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.

Keywords: exergy efficiency; nanofluid; nano-thermophysical properties; sustainability of solar collectors; techno-economic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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