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Advancing performance assessment of a spectral beam splitting hybrid PV/T system with water-based SiO2 nanofluid

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Abstract

Spectral beam split is attracting more attention thanks to the efficient use of whole spectrum solar energy and the cogenerative supply for electricity and heat. Nanofluids can selectively absorb and deliver specific solar spectra, making various nanofluids ideal for potential use in hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems for solar spectrum separation. Clarifying the effects of design parameters is extremely beneficial for optimal frequency divider design and system performance enhancement. The water-based SiO2 nanofluid with excellent thermal and absorption properties was proposed as the spectral beam splitter in the present study, to improve the efficiency of a hybrid PV/T system. Moreover, a dual optical path method was applied to get its spectral transimissivity and analyze the impact of its concentration and optical path on its optical properties. Furthermore, a PV and photothermal model of the presented system was built to investigate the system performance. The result indicates that the transimissivity of the nanofluids to solar radiation gradually decreases with increasing SiO2 nanofluid concentration and optical path. The higher nanofluid concentration leads to a lower electrical conversion efficiency, a higher thermal conversion efficiency, and an overall system efficiency. Considering the overall efficiency and economic cost, the optimal SiO2 nanofluid concentration is 0.10 wt.% (wt.%, mass fraction). Increasing the optical path (from 0 to 30 mm) results in a 60.43% reduction in electrical conversion efficiency and a 50.84% increase in overall system efficiency. However, the overall system efficiency rises sharply as the optical path increases in the 0–10 mm range, and then slowly at the optical path of 10–30 mm. Additionally, the overall system efficiency increases first and then drops upon increasing the focusing ratio. The maximum efficiency is 51.93% at the focusing ratio of 3.

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Abbreviations

AM1.5:

Solar irradiance for air mass 1.5 W/m2

DI:

Deionized water

HTF:

Heat transfer fluid

PV:

Photovoltaic

PV/T:

Photovoltaic/thermal

SBS:

Spectral beam splitting

TESPI:

Thermal electric solar panel integration

A:

Area/m2

D :

Cuvette thickness/mm

E :

Energy

FF:

Filling factor of solar cells

G :

Intensity of sunlight exposure energy

I :

Intensity of current/A

k :

Empirical parameters of solar cells

K :

Boltzmann constant

N :

Number of batteries

P :

Power/W

q :

Electron quantity

r :

Relative temperature coefficient

R :

Resistance/Ω

T :

transimissivity measurement/%

V :

Voltage/V

x :

Fluid thickness/mm

α :

Absorption coefficient

δ :

Temperature coefficient of power

λ :

Wavelength/nm

τ :

transimissivity/%

η :

Coefficient

air:

cuv Air-cuvette interface

c:

Colorimetric dish

d:

Dark

el:

Electricity

fl:

Fliud

flu, cuv:

Fluid-cuvette interface

g0:

Semiconductor bandwidth gap

i:

Intensity

m:

Maximum

n:

Standard

oc:

Open-circuit

p:

Power plant

ph:

Photogenerated

pv:

Photovoltaic

ref:

Referent

rs:

Reverse saturation

s:

Series

sc:

Short-circuit

sh:

Shunt

th:

Thermal output

tot:

Total

collector:

Collector

0:

Saturation

1:

Liquid thickness of first cuvette

2:

Liquid thickness of second cuvette

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFE0208300), and the Multi-input Key Project of the Tianjin Natural Science Foundation, China (Grant No. 22JCZDJC00760), and Funded by the Science Research Project of Hebei Education Department, China (Grant No. CXY2024027).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hebei Key Laboratory of Thermal Science and Energy Clean Utilization, School of Energy and Environment Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300401, China

    Bin Yang, Yuan Zhi, Yao Qi, Lingkang Xie & Xiaohui Yu

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  1. Bin Yang
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  2. Yuan Zhi
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  3. Yao Qi
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Correspondence to Xiaohui Yu.

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Yang, B., Zhi, Y., Qi, Y. et al. Advancing performance assessment of a spectral beam splitting hybrid PV/T system with water-based SiO2 nanofluid. Front. Energy (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-024-0935-7

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