Non-Conventional Energy Resources

Non-Conventional Energy Resources

Unit-II
Solar Thermal Energy: Solar radiation, flat plate collectors
and their materials, applications and performance,
focusing of collectors, solar thermal power plants,
thermal energy storage for solar heating and cooling,
limitations.
 Solar Radiation
• The solar radiations received by the earth’s
surface depends on various factors, like
location, weather conditions, climate,
absorption, reflection, scattering and
attenuation by aerosol, particulates present in
the atmosphere.

• The solar radiation may be explained in two

categories:
– Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation
– Terrestrial Solar Radiation
 Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation

• The intensity of sun’s radiation outside the

earth’s atmosphere is called extraterrestrial
radiation. It has no diffuse components. The
radiations are measured as an average earth-sun
distance on a surface normal to radiation.
• The energy flux is called solar radiation and may
be defined as
– The energy received from the sun per unit time on a
unit area of surface, perpendicular to the direction of
propagation of the radiation at the earth’s mean
distance from the sun outside the atmosphere.”
 Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation
• It is denoted by ISC and is estimated as1367 W/m2.

1. The value of solar constant remains constant

throughout the year.
2. Its value changes with location.

• The extraterrestrial radiation observed on different

days is known as apparent extraterrestrial solar
radiation (irradiance) and can be calculated on any day
of year with given equation:
 Terrestrial Solar Radiation

• The radiations receive on the earth surface is

called the terrestrial radiation and is nearly
70% of extraterrestrial solar radiation. Its
maximum value on horizontal earth surface is
1000 W/m2, because a large part of radiations
are absorbed, reflected, attenuated back by
earth’s atmosphere.
Types of Solar Radiations
Air Mass
Basic Sun-Earth Angles
Basic Sun-Earth Angles
 Basic Sun-Earth Angles
• Zenith angle (θZ): If a vertical line is drawn to this horizontal plane, at its
center, the line joining sun and the center of the plane will make an angle
θZ with this vertical. This angle is called the zenith angle.

• Local solar time (LST): This is also called Local Apparent Time (LAT) td
calculated using various values of θZ. The time so calculated the Local
Solar Time. This will vary from the actual clock time by approximately 4
minutes. This variation changes with the month of the year.
 Solar Thermal Energy
• The application of solar thermal energy ranges
from solar cooker of 1 kW to power plant of
200 MW.
• These systems are grouped into
– low temperature (< 1500C)
– medium temperature (1500 - 3000C)
– high temperature (5000 –10000C).
 Solar Collectors
• Solar collectors are used to collect the solar
energy and convert the incident radiations in
thermal energy by absorbing them.
• This heat is absorbed by flowing fluid in the
tube of collector.

• These are of two types:

– Non concentrating collectors
– Concentrating collectors
 Non concentrating collectors
• Non concentrating collectors: In these
collectors the area of collector to intercept the
solar radiation is equal to the absorber plate
and has concentration ratio of 1. These can be
categorized as:

– Flat Plate Collectors

– Vacuum Tube Collectors

– Unglazed Flat Plate Collectors

Flat Plate Collectors
 Flat Plate Collectors

Advantages
1.Utilizes the both the beam as well as diffuse
radiation for heating
2. Less maintenance requires
3. Low water temperature is achieved.
 Flat Plate Collectors

Advantages Disadvantages
1.Utilizes the both the beam as well as diffuse 1.Large heat losses by conduction and
radiation for heating radiation.
2. Less maintenance requires 2. No tracking of sun.
3. Low water temperature is achieved. 3. Low water temperature is achieved.
 Flat Plate Collectors

Advantages Disadvantages
1.Utilizes the both the beam as well as diffuse 1.Large heat losses by conduction and
radiation for heating radiation.
2. Less maintenance requires 2. No tracking of sun.
3. Low water temperature is achieved. 3. Low water temperature is achieved.
Vacuum Tube Collectors
Vacuum Tube Collectors
Unglazed Flat Plate Collectors
Unglazed Flat Plate Collectors
 Non concentrating collectors
• These can be categorized as:

– Flat Plate Collectors

– Vacuum Tube Collectors

– Unglazed Flat Plate Collectors

As discussed in previous slides.

 Construction and Materials for Flat
Plate Collectors
• Material needed for flat plate collectors can be classified into following
groups:
– Physical properties – tensile strength, density etc.
– Thermal properties – thermal conductivity, heat capacity etc.
– Environmental properties – corrosion resistant, degradation of
material due to UV radiation, moisture penetration etc.

• The materials generally used for various components of a flat plate

collector are as given below:

– (a) Absorber Plate and Tubes:

– (b) Thermal Insulation:
– (c) Transparent Cover Plates:
– (d) Casing:
– (e) Selective Coating:
 Materials for Flat Plate Collectors
• (a) Absorber Plate and Tubes:
– These plates should have high tensile strength; high
thermal conductivity and it should be corrosion resistant
(generally made of copper, aluminum, steel etc).
– Generally black chrome, black copper oxides, black
nickel etc are used for its coating to having high
absorptivity.
• (b) Thermal Insulation:
– The material used for insulation should have low
thermal conductivity, stability at high temperature up to
2000C, non-corrosive.
– Insulating materials generally used are mineral wool,
rock wool, glass, thermo Cole, foam etc.
 Materials for Flat Plate Collectors
• (c) Transparent Cover Plates:
– Cover plates must have high strength, high solar energy
transmittance and high durability against UV radiation.
– Usually plain glass plates or toughened of 4 to 5 mm
thickness are used.
• (d) Casing:
– This contains all the above components which is placed
at an angle facing south at an inclination to the
horizontal equal to the latitude of the place plus 150.
– It is made of aluminum, steel or fiber glass in
rectangular shape.
 Materials for Flat Plate Collectors
• (e) Selective Coating:
– This surface has high absorptivity of incoming solar
radiation and low value of emissivity.
– Selective surfaces are essential to reduce the heat losses
from absorber plate and increase the temperature of
absorbing surface i.e. it should have high collector
efficiency.
– Various methods of these coatings which are employed
are by electroplating, anodic oxidation, chemical
conversion etc.
– Generally Black chrome, black nickel, aluminum nitride
etc are used for this purpose.
 Performance of Flat Plate Collectors:
Fin Efficiency Factor (F)
• It indicates the effectiveness of a fin in transferring the
thermal energy to the tube from the projected plane.
• It is defined as a ratio of actual heat transferred to the heat
that would be transferred if entire plate area (fins) is at
base temperature. It is represented by letter F.

Where: Qact = actual rate of heat transferred to tube base (W/m2)

Ac= collector area (m2); It = incident total radiations (W/m2); UL = overall heat loss
coefficient (W/m2 0C); Tp= plate temperature (0C); Ta = ambient temperature (0C);
α0τ0 = product of absorptivity and transmitivity; α0τ0I0 = heat energy absorbed by
collector / area (W/m2); UL(Tp - Ta) = overall heat loss / area (W/m2).
 Performance of Flat Plate Collectors:
Collector Efficiency Factor (F’)
• It is defined as the ratio of useful heat removed by flowing
fluid in the tubes to the heat removed with assumption
that collector absorbing plate is at local fluid temperature
(Tf) throughout.
• This factor is constant for given collectors and depends on
design and flow rate of fluid through tubes.
• Decreases with increase in spacing between the tubes and
increases with thermal conductivity of material and its
thickness.
 Performance of Flat Plate Collectors:
Collector Heat Removal Factor (FR)
• It is defined as a ratio of actual useful energy gain by fluid
to the energy gain if the entire collector is at fluid inlet
temperature.
• It reduces the actual useful heat gain by flowing fluid in the
tube.

Where: Tfo= outlet fluid temperature; Tfi= inlet fluid temperature (0C); m = mass flow
rate of fluid (Kg/s); Cf = specific heat capacity of fluid (KJ/Kg K).
 Performance of Flat Plate Collectors:
Collector Efficiency (η)
• It is the ratio of useful energy absorbed by collector
to the incident solar energy over it
 Factor Affecting the Performance of
Flat Plate Collectors:
• Incident Solar Radiation: As the solar flux increases, the heat
absorbed by the collector increases, thereby the performance of
the collectors improves.
• Selective Surfaces: By using materials for surfaces which are highly
sensitivity to the radiation, the absorption could be maximized. The
selective surface should be able to withstand high temperature of
300-4000C should not oxidize and be non-corrosive.
• Number of Cover Plates: The increase in number of cover plate
reduces the internal convective heat losses but also prevents the
transmission of radiation inside the collector. More than two cover
plate should not be used to optimize the system.
• Collector Tilt: The flat plate collectors do not track sun and should
be tilted at angle latitude of the location for an average better
performance. The collector is placed with south facing at northern
hemisphere to receive maximum radiation throughout the day.
 Factor Affecting the Performance of
Flat Plate Collectors:
• Spacing between Absorber Plates and Glass Cover: The more
space between the absorber and cover plate the less internal heat
losses. The collector efficiency will be increased. However on the
other hand, increase in space between them provides the shading
by side wall in the morning and evening and reduces the absorbed
solar flux.
• Fluid Inlet Temperature: As the inlet temperature of the fluid
increases, the operating temperature of the collector increases.
This lead to increased losses and decrease in efficiency.
• Dust on Cover Plate: The efficiency of collector decreases with dust
particles on the cover plate because the transmission radiation
decreases by 1%. Frequent cleaning is required to get the maximum
efficiency of collector.
 Concentrating Type Collectors
• These types of collectors are also known as focusing collectors.
• These are used for medium (100-3000C) and high temperature
(above 3000C) application such as steam production for the
generation of electricity.
• The collector system comprises of a concentrator and absorber
(receiver). The concentrator is an optical system in the form of
reflecting mirrors or reflecting lenses.
• The collector is installed with a tracking device for continuously
following the sun.
• The receiver includes an energy absorbing surface, transparent
cover and other accessories.
• The system receives the solar radiation on the large concentration
area and focused it on to a an absorber having relatively much
lesser area.
• These systems have high collector efficiency which lies between 50-
70%.
 Types of Solar Concentrating Collectors
• These are further divided into two categories
– Focusing type or concentrating type collectors
– Non-focusing type collectors

• Focusing Type Concentrator:

• Parabolic trough reflector
• Mirror strip reflector,
• Fresnel lens collector
• Parabolic dish collector

• Non-Focusing Type Collectors:

• Flat plate collector with plane reflector
• Compound parabolic concentrator
 Parabolic Trough Reflector
• This type is line focusing type collector.
• In this type of collector, the solar radiations falling on the area of
the parabolic reflector are concentrated at the focus of parabola.
• These are usually made of highly polished or glass like shine
surfaces.
• The temperature at the absorber tube is obtained at nearly 4000C.
• Because of its parabolic shape, it can focus the sun at 30 to 100
times its normal intensity on a receiver.
 Mirror Strip Reflector Type Concentrating Collector
• It has the plane or slightly curved mirror strips mounted on a flat
base.
• The individual mirrors are placed at such an angle that reflected
solar radiations fall on the same focal line where the absorber pipe
is placed.
• The collector pipe is rotated so that the reflected rays on the
absorber remain focused with respect to changes n sun’s elevation.
 Fresnel Lens Concentrating Collector
• In this collector a Fresnel lens which consists of fine, linear grooves
on the surface of refracting material of optical quality on one side
and flat on the other side is used.
• The solar radiations which fall normal to the lens are refracted by
the lens and are focused on a line where the absorber (receiver)
tube is placed.
• A Fresnel lens collector is generally made of acrylic plastic sheets
having overall dimensions of 4.7 m × 0.05 m.
 Parabolic Dish Collector
• It is point focusing type collector which have a mirror like reflectors
and an absorber at the focal point.
• The concentrating ratio of these collectors is 100 and temperature
of the receiver can reach up to 20000C.
• These collectors have higher efficiency for converting solar energy
to electricity in the small-power plant.
 Types of Solar Concentrating Collectors
• These are further divided into two categories
– Focusing type or concentrating type collectors
– Non-focusing type collectors

• Focusing Type Concentrator:

• Parabolic trough reflector
• Mirror strip reflector,
• Fresnel lens collector
• Parabolic dish collector

• Non-Focusing Type Collectors:

• Flat plate collector with plane reflector
• Compound parabolic concentrator
 Flat Plate Collector with Plane Reflector
• It uses a flat plate collector with plane mirror reflector attached on
its edges to reflect the additional solar radiations into the receiver,
thus the total solar radiation received by the receiver are increased.
The mirrors used are called booster mirrors.
• These collectors utilize direct and diffuse both types of radiations
and achieved fluid temperature higher by 300C than in FPC.
 Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC)
• It is also called Winston collectors. It consists of two facing parabolic
mirror segments attached to a flat receiver (absorber).
• It collects both direct and diffuse solar radiation with high
acceptance angle and requires occasional sun tracking.
• The temperature attained is in the range from 1000C to 1500C.
However temperature up to 2000C can be achieved using evacuated
type of tubular absorber.
 Center Receiver Type (Solar Power Tower):
There is one more type of solar collectors,
known as solar power tower.

•This system uses 100-1000 of flat tracking

mirrors called heliostats to reflect the large
solar energy at one point (receiver).

•Each heliostat is rotated into two directions

so as to track the sun and they together
behave like a broken very large parabolic
reflector.

•A concentration ratio up to 3000 can be

achieved with this system and capable to
generate steam of high pressure and high
temperature suited for generation of
electricity in steam power plants.
 Advantages of concentrating Collectors Over
Flat Plate Collectors:
• Cost of concentrator system/unit area is less.
• Requires less absorber area.
• Has high collection efficiency since heat losses are
less.
• Suitable for large power generation since high
temperatures of the fluid can be attained.
Disadvantages of concentrating Collectors Over
Flat Plate Collectors:
• System needs tracking of sun which increases the
capital cost.
• Diffuse solar radiations cannot be collected on
receiver.
• Requires higher maintenance to retain the quality of
reflecting surfaces.
• Has high initial cost and maintenance cost.
 Solar Thermal System
A solar thermal system is use to convert solar energy into
other forms of energy which may be utilized for various
applications like:
• Heating water for domestic use and for swimming pools;
• Heating and cooling of buildings;
• Day lighting of buildings;
• Cooking food;
• Solar distillation (water treatment etc);
• Electricity generation;
• Powering earth satellites etc.
 Solar Thermal Power plant:
A solar power plant converts solar energy into electrical
energy. They can be divided into following categories:

1. Low temperature solar power plant using flat plate

collectors
2. Medium temperature solar power plant using
concentrated solar collectors
3. High temperature solar power plant using tower system.
 Low Temperature Solar Power System

•The low temperature solar power plants uses the working fluid temperatures
in the range of 600C to 1000C which can be obtained using flat plate collectors.

•Since the water can be only heated 800C in FPC, the systems needs to use a
working fluid having low boiling temperature like butane gas.
• The cold water is circulated into the collector with the help of a
circulating pump.

• The heated water is circulated in a heat exchanger called butane

boiler, where it generates the butane gas at high pressure. This
butane gas supplied to a butane turbine to produce mechanical
power due to expansion of butane gas.

• The vapour coming out of the turbine is condensed in a condenser

and sent back for recirculation with the help of feed pump.

• The mechanical power output of turbine is converted into electric

power by generator.
 Medium temperature Solar Power Plant

• These systems employ an array of parabolic through concentrating

collectors spread over a large area.

•The general range of working temperature is between 2500C to 4000C.

• The working fluid, usually water, is heated as it circulates through the
receivers.

• This heat is transferred to storage tank and fed to water where the
steam is generated in the steam generator.

• This steam is utilized to run a turbine coupled to a electric generator,

which converts it into electrical energy by electro-mechanical energy
conversion.

• The exhaust of steam turbine is condensed in the condenser with the

help of cold water circulated in the condenser.

• A 30 MW plant have been installed in Rajasthan under the department

of non-conventional energy sources.
High Temperature Solar Thermal Power Plants

•Such plants use heliostat sand have high thermal efficiency, can
build in the capacity of 50 MW to 200 MW.
• The solar dish collectors receive solar radiations which are
collected at a common focusing point. Small volumes of the
fluid are heated at this point high temperature.

• In central tower receiver an array of plane mirrors called

heliostats which are individually controlled and tracked to
reflect the solar radiations on a receiver kept on a tower of
about 500 m height.

• The feed water in the absorber-receiver called boiler is

converted into high steam of about6000C- 7000C.

• This steam is supplied in a conventional steam power plant

coupled to an electric generator to generator electrical power.
 Solar Pond

•The concept of solar pond is based on the observation that

some natural lakes have higher temperature at bottom
where salt concentration is higher.
• The heat of hot brine solution from solar pond is used to
evaporated the working substance at constant pressure in the
boiler.

• This vapour is used to run the vapour turbine to produce

mechanical power is utilized to run a generator to produce
the electrical power.

• The exhaust of the turbine is condensed in the condenser at

constant pressure with the help of cooling water.

• The condensate is returned to the boiler by a pump. Thus the

cycle is repeated.
 Solar Water Heater

•The solar water heaters are used to raise the temperature of

water and store it for various purposes as when needed.
• It consists of the following main components connected with the help of
insulated piping:
(i) Flat plate collector (ii) Storage tank
(iii) Heat exchanger (iv) Pump

• The water is heated in the flat plate collectors. The low temperature water
is fed from bottom side of collector and high temperature water is taken
out from the top of the collector.

• The storage tank is insulated to retain the heat of water with minimum
losses. The heated water is stored in the tank for further use.

• The heat exchanger is incorporated between the collector and storage

tank. It is installed and good quality of water is used in primary cycle of the
collector.

• Pumps are used for circulation of fluid.

Solar Cooling System
• The cycle used for cooling with utilization of solar energy is vapour
absorption cycle is used in remote area having scarcity of power.
• The performance of vapour absorption system depends upon the working
fluid pair i.e. refrigerant and absorbent.
• The absorption systems are classified as:
(a)Ammonia/water absorption system
(b)Ammonia/water/hydrogen Electrolux absorption system
(c)Lithium bromide (Libr)/water absorption system.
Simple Ammonia/Water Absorption System
• The most commonly used refrigerant in absorption system is ammonia. It
is cheap and readily available and has great affinity with water is used as
absorbent and absorbs NH3 very fast.
• The ammonia-water absorption system is used for cooling duties up to
-500C. The heat required in generator is supplied by water heated in FPC.
• Its main components and their working can be explained as:
• Its main components and their working can be explained as:

(a) The Absorber: The absorber acts as a suction pump. The water is used as
absorbent to absorb the low-pressure suction vapour of NH3 coming out
of evaporator. During absorption the ammonia discharges its latent heat of
condensation to the water which raises its temperature. Thus it is always
desirable to cool the absorbent solution by cooled circulated external
water or by means to keep the absorbent temperature as low as possible.

(b) Pump: The NH3 rich solution from the absorber is pumped to the
generator by means of using small capacity pump. The pump raises the
pressure of mixture.

(c) Generator: The heat from collector is supplied to the generator to boil off
the rich mixture of NH3/water.
(d) Pressure Reducing Valve: The weak solution left in the generator at
condensed pressure is returned back to absorber through pressure
reducing valve. The pressure reduces from condenser pressure to
absorber pressure.

(e) Condenser: The high pressure ammonia vapour leaving the generator gets
condensed in water-cooled condenser.

(f) Expansion Device: The condensed liquid ammonia from condenser is

supplied through expansion device to evaporator. The Expansion device
lower the pressure and temperature of liquid ammonia.

(g) Evaporator: Low temperature and low pressure liquid ammonia enters in
the evaporator where it boils of by absorbing latent heat from surrounding
to produce refrigeration effect. The liquid NH3 changes to low pressure
suction vapour. The suction vapour is absorbed in absorber to maintain
the continue circulation of NH3 in system.
END OF UNIT 2