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Frontiers in Energy >> 2022, Volume 16, Issue 3 doi: 10.1007/s11708-021-0758-8

Application of metal oxides-based nanofluids in PV/T systems: a review

Available online: 2022-06-15

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Abstract

Having the wide application of metal oxides in energy technologies, in recent years, many researchers tried to increase the performance of the PV/T system by using metal oxide-based nanofluids (NFs) as coolants or optical filters or both at the same time. This paper summarizes recent research activities on various metal oxides (Al2O3, TiO2, SiO2, Fe3O4, CuO, ZnO, MgO)-based NFs performance in the PV/T system regarding different significant parameters, e.g., thermal conductivity, volume fraction, mass flowrate, electrical, thermal and overall efficiency, etc. By conducting a comparative study among the metal oxide-based NFs, Al2O3/SiO2-water NFs are mostly used to achieve maximum performance. The Al2O3-water NF has a prominent heat transfer feature with a maximum electrical efficiency of 17%, and a maximum temperature reduction of PV module of up to 36.9°C can be achieved by using the Al2O3-water NF as a coolant. Additionally, studies suggest that the PV cell’s efficiency of up to 30% can be enhanced by using a solar tracking system. Besides, TiO2-water NFs have been proved to have the highest thermal efficiency of 86% in the PV/T system, but TiO2 nanoparticles could be hazardous for human health. As a spectral filter, SiO2-water NF at a size of 5 nm and a volume fraction of 2% seems to be very favorable for PV/T systems. Studies show that the combined use of NFs as coolants and spectral filters in the PV/T system could provide a higher overall efficiency at a cheaper rate. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of using NFs in PV/T systems are also discussed.

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