Techno-economic and environmental analysis of a hybrid PV/T solar system based on vegetable and synthetic oils coupled with TiO2 in Cameroon
Armel Zambou Kenfack, Modeste Kameni Nematchoua, Elie Simo, Franck Armel Talla Konchou, Mahamat Hassane Babikir, Boris Abeli Pekarou Pemi, Venant Sorel Chara-Dackou
Abstract
To assess the production potential, economic profitability and ecobalance of the photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system in Cameroon, different configurations of HTF based on water, vegetable and synthetic oils, coupled with different forms of titanium dioxide ( TiO 2 ) are used. A numerical code is written in Matlab. The PV/T model connected in direct contact PV-absorber is validated and a multi-objective optimization of the system is performed. The hourly evolution of PV cell temperature for the six HTF configurations revealed a value below 36 °C with Coton/TiO 2 . The platelets-and spherical-shaped nanoparticles increase the convection transfer coefficient between the fluids and the tubes. TiO 2 showed a higher thermal influence in vegetable and synthetic oils than in water at a volume concentration of 4 %. The cotton/TiO 2 configuration showed a 12.08 % improvement in electrical efficiency over conventional PV systems with low exergy efficiency compared to water. Configurations with therminolVP-1/TiO 2 are better, with the proposed energy cost reduced to 33 % of the price of electricity in Cameroon. The PV/T-Palm/TiO 2 system showed an energy cost of $0.03 with a net present value of $568.45, an emission rate of 7.78 kg, a reversibility index of 1.95, an annual cost of $7.07 and a payback time of 5.97yr. This shows that PV/T systems based on vegetable oils are economical.