ENERGY, ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEAT TRANSFER ANALYSIS OF A SOLAR FLAT-PLATE COLLECTOR WITH pH-TREATED Fe3O4/WATER NANOFLUID

Abstract

The efficiency, energy, economical factor, heat transfer, friction factor, and thermal performance of pH-treated Fe3O4/water nanofluid flow in a collector have been analyzed experimentally. Based on the chemical co-precipitation method, nanoparticles were synthesized and used for the preparation of nanofluids. The efficiency experiments were performed at various mass flow rates (120 L/h to 600 L/h), particle volume concentrations (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3%), and pH values (pH = 3, 6, and 10) of nanofluids. The ASHRAE standards were used for the evaluation of the efficiency of the collector. The results show that by using 0.3% particle loadings of nanofluids, the collector efficiency is enhanced up to 26.64%, compared to water data at a flow rate of 600 L/h. The collector efficiency is changed with the effect of the pH value of the nanofluid. With the decreased pH value of nanofluid, the collector efficiency increased slightly. The collector with 0.3 vol.% of Fe3O4/water nanofluid showed a potential reduction in the area of 21% when compared with water used in a collector. The results show that Fe3O4/water nanofluid of 0.3 vol.% concentration saved 303.48 MJ of embodied energy, offsetting emission of 184.9 kg less CO2 when compared with traditional water collector.