Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies
Abir Hmida; Abdelghafour Lamrani; Mamdouh El Haj Assad; Yashar Aryanfar; Jorge Luis Garcia Alcaraz
Abstract
Around the globe, a 60 % increase in energy demand is predicted to occur by the end of the year 2030 due to the ever-increasing population and development. With a registered temperature up to 50°C in August 2020, which is classified as one of the hottest regions in the world, the demand for cool ...
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Around the globe, a 60 % increase in energy demand is predicted to occur by the end of the year 2030 due to the ever-increasing population and development. With a registered temperature up to 50°C in August 2020, which is classified as one of the hottest regions in the world, the demand for cool temperatures in Gabes-Tunisia to achieve the thermal comfort of people ensuring the product storage has become more and more intense. Removing heat from buildings represents the most extensive energy consumption process. In this paper, an absorption-refrigeration system driven by solar energy is proposed. A parametric simulation model is developed based on the TRNSYS platform. A comparison between different models for global radiation calculation and experimental meteorological data was carried out. It has been proven that the Brinchambaut model seems to be the most convenient in describing the real global radiation, with an error of up to 3.16%. An area of 22 m² of evacuated tube solar collector ensures the proper functioning of the generator and achieves a temperature up to 2°C in the cold room.
Advanced Energy Technologies
Mohammad Rasooli Mavini; Hassan Ali Ozgoli; Sadegh Safari
Abstract
In this study, various configurations design of a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) are examined to enhance energy efficiency of a Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP). A novel approach is used to investigate ten applicable configurations of a dual pressure Heat Recovery Steam Generator HRSG thoroughly ...
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In this study, various configurations design of a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) are examined to enhance energy efficiency of a Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP). A novel approach is used to investigate ten applicable configurations of a dual pressure Heat Recovery Steam Generator HRSG thoroughly to explore the best practice models from the energy-conserving considerations. Further, a fuel consumption assessment has been conducted to identify the best performance of the cycle and investigate the minimum pollutants released of each Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) configuration. The results have revealed that four scenarios among ten, have expressed a considerably better performance regarding; fuel consumption, steam production, energy efficiency, and finally yet importantly environmental considerations. Further, it has been found that in comparison to the conventional configuration, not only the selected scenarios have proved almost four times improvement in the low-pressure steam generation, but also 30% fuel consumption saving in supplementary firing has been achieved which has both economic and environmental benefits. Moreover the carbon dioxide saving potential for the best scenario is 51.37 kgCO2 MWh-1 consequently the environmental benefit of it is calculated about 133,418 $ MWh-1.
Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies
Mohammad Hosseinpour; Hassan Ali Ozgoli; Seyed Alireza Haji Seyed Mirza Hosseini; Amir Hooman Hemmasi; Ramin Mehdipour
Abstract
In this study, the partial alteration of fuel consumption of combined cycle power plants was investigated and analyzed using an innovative model. This system is applicable using the fuel derived from the biomass gasification process. For this purpose, energy modeling of an advanced gasification system ...
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In this study, the partial alteration of fuel consumption of combined cycle power plants was investigated and analyzed using an innovative model. This system is applicable using the fuel derived from the biomass gasification process. For this purpose, energy modeling of an advanced gasification system to supply a share of the gas fuel was fulfilled. The results demonstrated that by considering the reasonable capacities for the design, up to 10 % of natural gas fuel could be replaced with syngas. In addition, heat recovery of the plant stack in the Kalina low-temperature cycle enhanced the total efficiency by up to 1.7 %. Therefore, the competitive advantage of the proposed cycle was enhanced compared to conventional power generation systems. A parametric study of the components affecting the integrated cycle performance including alternative biomass fuels, moisture content of biomass fuel, steam-to-biomass ratio, and equivalence ratio of the gasifier was performed, and the permissible values of each factor were obtained. Thus, by utilizing the proposed approach, it is possible to gradually substitute the consumed fossil fuels of power plants with renewable resources to achieve the objectives of sustainable energy development.
Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies
Hemad Zareiforoush; Adel Bakhshipour; Iraj Bagheri
Abstract
Drying process is an important post-harvest stage of food crops production which accounts for about 20 % of the world’s energy consumption in the industrial sector. One of the effective ways to reduce the share of fossil fuel consumption in the food drying process is to develop new drying systems ...
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Drying process is an important post-harvest stage of food crops production which accounts for about 20 % of the world’s energy consumption in the industrial sector. One of the effective ways to reduce the share of fossil fuel consumption in the food drying process is to develop new drying systems based on the use of renewable energy sources. In this research, a novel solar-assisted multi-belt conveyor dryer was developed and its performance was analysed. The required thermal energy for drying process was supplied by the combination of solar-gas water heaters and four solar-powered infrared (IR) lamps. The experimental factors included the speed and temperature of the drying air and the power of IR lamps. The performance characteristics were drying time, Overall Specific Energy (OSE), Non-Solar Specific Energy (NSE), Overall Energy Efficiency (OEE), and Solar-Assisted Energy Efficiency (SEE). The optimization process of the drying system was carried out using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) by defining two general modes for the energy sources of the drying system, namely overall mode and solar-assisted mode. Based on the results, the lowest OSE (17.30 MJ/kg water evaporated) was obtained when the speed and temperature of the drying air were equal to 7 m/s and 40 °C, respectively, without using IR power. The lowest NSE (2.71 MJ/kg water evaporated) was achieved by applying the treatment of 7 m/s * 40 °C * 300 W. The maximum OEE was equal to 13.92 % whilst the maximum SEE was obtained as 88.71 %. Both of the mentioned maximum values were obtained at the speed and temperature combination of 7 m/s and 40 °C and their difference was applying 300 W IR power to gain maximum SEE and no IR utilization for the maximum OEE. According to RSM analysis, the optimum working conditions for the drying system included the treatment of 7 m/s * 39.96 ºC * 300 W. Under this condition, the drying time, NSE, and SEE values were equal to 180.95 min, 1.062 MJ/kg water evaporated, and 84.63 %, respectively.
Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies
Nima Amani; Abdul Amir Reza Soroush
Abstract
One of the main reasons of environmental pollution is energy consumption in buildings. Today, the use of renewable energy sources is increasing dramatically. Among these sources, solar energy has favorable costs for various applications. This study examined a commercial building in a hot and humid climate. ...
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One of the main reasons of environmental pollution is energy consumption in buildings. Today, the use of renewable energy sources is increasing dramatically. Among these sources, solar energy has favorable costs for various applications. This study examined a commercial building in a hot and humid climate. The findings showed that choosing the optimal angle of solar panels with the goal of optimized energy consumption would yield reduced costs and less environmental pollutants with the least cost and maximum energy absorption. In this study, to calculate the energy requirements of the building, DesignBuilder software was used. To study the solar angles and estimate the energy produced by the solar panels, Polysun software was used after simulating the building energy. Energy simulation results showed that the whole building energy consumption was 26604 kWh/year. Finally, the evaluation results of solar panels showed that the energy produced by photovoltaic modules at an optimal angle of 31° would be equal to 26978 kWh/year, which is more than the energy required by the building. This system can prevent 14471 kg of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Sustainable energy criteria showed that for the studied building, photovoltaic modules could be used in energy production to reach a zero-energy system connected to the grid with an annual energy balance.
Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies
Ramasamy Dhivagar; Murugesan Mohanraj
Abstract
In this experimental work, the energy efficiency and performance parameters of a coarse aggregate-assisted single-slope solar still were analyzed using Taguchi analysis. The preheated inlet saline water was sent to the solar still using thermal energy accumulated in coarse aggregate to enhance its productivity ...
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In this experimental work, the energy efficiency and performance parameters of a coarse aggregate-assisted single-slope solar still were analyzed using Taguchi analysis. The preheated inlet saline water was sent to the solar still using thermal energy accumulated in coarse aggregate to enhance its productivity and energy efficiency. The daily distillate of the proposed model was observed to be about 4.21 kg/m2 with the improved efficiency of around 32 %. Furthermore, the parameters that influenced the performance of the solar stills and their levels were identified using Taguchi analysis. The Signal to Noise (S/N) ratios of the coarse aggregate temperature, saline water temperature, glass temperature and energy efficiency were observed to be about 45.4 °C, 41.4 °C, 36.7 °C and 20.07 %, respectively. The results revealed that, the percentage difference between predicted and experimental values was observed to be about 1.6 %, 0.6 %, 1.5 % and 3.3 %, respectively. The optimization method confirmed that there was good agreement between the predicted and experimental values.
Renewable Energy Economics, Policies and Planning
Ali Mostafaeipour; Afsaneh Nasiri
Abstract
In hot and dry regions, air conditioning is used for many different applications like residential, industry, and agriculture and dairy products. This research studies the applicability of wind and solar energies for cooling fruit storage warehouse in the hot and dry region of Yazd in Iran. The studied ...
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In hot and dry regions, air conditioning is used for many different applications like residential, industry, and agriculture and dairy products. This research studies the applicability of wind and solar energies for cooling fruit storage warehouse in the hot and dry region of Yazd in Iran. The studied case is a fruit warehouse with an area of 4240 m2 resulting in a storage capacity of about 1000 tons. For this purpose, the heat gain of the warehouse is determined, and the obtained cooling load is then used to examine the solar and wind energy to power a conventional warehouse system. Different scenarios are examined for this research such as solar air conditioner, solar absorption chiller, wind catcher, and a combination of solar air conditioners and solar absorption chiller for cooling the fruit warehouse. Comparison and economic evaluation of different scenarios show that the solar air conditioning ranks first for this purpose. Results are then validated using value engineering methodology. Solar air conditioning with the highest net present value (NPV) of 4,865,040,418 Rials and the best internal rate of return (IRR) value of 182.98 % was determined to be the best approach among the studied methods. The results of this research can be applied to other regions with similar climatic conditions too.
