Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 873883

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Analysis of a single cover FRP at plate collector for treating tannery euent
K. Srithar, A. Mani
*

Refrigeration and Airconditioning Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai 600 036, India Received 18 February 2003; accepted 25 October 2003

Abstract Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) at plate collector (FPC) with single cover can be used for augmenting evaporation of water in tannery euent. In this paper, experimental studies on FRPFPC is presented. The performance is compared with the theoretically simulated performance. The evaporation rate increases, with increase in insolation and wind speed and decrease in relative humidity, concentration and mass ow rate. 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Flat plate collector; Fibre-reinforced plastic collector; Tannery euent; Pollution; Evaporation; Euent treatment

1. Introduction It is a known and established fact that tannery euents (soak liquor) highly pollute water source, as well as soil. The ground water in and around tannery and tannery euent pond, for distance of about 5 km, becomes unt for human and cattle use. There is no vegetative growth in the aected area as the soil become unt for any cultivation. Government of India has enacted law, making it obligatory/compulsory on the part of the tanners to take up eective pollution control measures. Various experiments and studies were taken up by researchers to explore pollution control measures eectively.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-44-2257-8534; fax: +91-44-2257-0509. E-mail address: mania@iitm.ac.in (A. Mani).

1359-4311/$ - see front matter 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2003.10.021

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Nomenclature A C Cs dm dt Ec Ed Ek Er Es Gr g Id Ig Ib hc hfg hw k L NuL P Pr pA pw ps;ave RaL Re RH S Ta Te Tg Ts W DTs Greek / d b area of the collector, m2 concentration, % specic heat of the solution, J kg1 K1 mass of water evaporated from the solution, J kg1 K1 time interval, s heat transfer from solution by convection, J heat transfer due to desorption, J heat conducted through the base, J heat transfer by radiation, J heat transfer to solution, J Grashof number acceleration due to gravity, m s2 diuse radiation intensity on a horizontal plane, W m2 global radiation intensity on a horizontal plane, W m2 intensity of solar radiation on an inclined collector, W m2 convective heat transfer coecient between the solution and ambient air, W m2 K1 latent heat of vaporization from the solution, J kg1 K1 heat transfer coecient from glass cover to the ambient, W m2 K1 thermal conductivity of air, W m1 K1 characteristic length, m Nusselt number based on the characteristic length atmospheric pressure, bar Prandtl number partial pressure of water vapour in the ambient air, bar saturation pressure of water in the euent at Ts , bar partial pressure of the solution, bar Rayleigh number based on the characteristic length Reynold number relative humidity salinity, g kg1 ambient temperature, K eective sky temperature, K glass temperature, K solution temperature, K wind speed, m s1 temperature rise of the solution, K symbols latitude, degrees declination, degrees collector surface inclination, degrees

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bc 1=Tf expansion coecient, K1 bk mass transfer coecient with humidity ratio as the driving force, kg s1 m2 bm mass transfer coecient with vapour pressure as the driving force, kg bar1 m2 s1 r StefanBoltzmann constant, W m2 K4 eg emissivity of the glass emissivity of the solution es absorptivity of the glass ag as absorptancetransmittance product surface azimuth angle cs Dx thickness of the plate, m

In India, isolated tanneries with sucient land area and nancial capacities have setup independent euent treatment plants. Tanneries located in clusters and not having enough land and nancial capacity to put up individual euent treatment unit have jointly setup Common Euent Treatment Plant (CETP). The water in the euent is to be evaporated to near saturation limit. Subsequently the concentrated liquid is to be sent to natural shallow solar pans for further evaporation and recovery of salt. Evaporation rate can be increased by any one or a combination of the followings: Heating the euent. Increasing the exposure area. Increasing the wind speed. Increasing the air temperature. Reducing the humidity of air.

The rst two options employ simple methods at an aordable cost compared to the latter three options, which entail high running cost [16]. Use of solar energy for direct heating of the euent is one of the cheapest method. In this experiment the euent is made to ow over an inclined bre-reinforced plastic (FRP) at plate collector (FPC) with glass cover, as a thin lm. Solar radiation falling over the collector is transmitted through the glass and the liquid lm to the absorber surface, thereby heating the absorber plate. From the plate, heat is transferred to the liquid owing over it as a thin lm, thus increasing the solution temperature. It means the humidity dierence between the surface of the solution and the air present between the plate and cover, which is the mass transfer driving force, increases. This results in improved mass transfer from the solution to the air. To study, the eect of operational and meteorological parameters on evaporation rate, one dimensional energy balance equations are obtained. Using these equations, theoretical performance of the system is simulated. In this present work, experimental studies also have been carried out at Madurai, India (/ 10N) using a black FRP at plate collector with a glass cover. During the period of experimentation, the system is made to operate continuously throughout the year during the sunshine hours. Eect of meteorological parameters like insolation, air humidity and wind speed

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and the operational parameters like mass ow rate of the euent owing over the at plate collector, salt concentration of the euent on the evaporation rate have been analysed. It is found that the claried soak liquor is colourless and contains about 2% of sodium chloride salt during analysis. For the experimentation, sodium chloride salt with water is used, instead of euent. For theoretical analysis, properties of the above salt solution are evaluated from the reference [4]. Simulated performance of the FPC evaporation system is compared with the experimental performance. The evaporation rate of water in the euent increases with the increase in insolation and wind speed and decrease in relative humidity, mass ow rate and concentration.

2. Theoretical analysis The governing energy balance equations for the solution and absorber are obtained [3,4,79] as follows: Energy absorbed by the plate is equal to the summation of energy lost by conduction (Ek ) convection (Ec ) and radiation (Er ), energy utilized for evaporation (Ed ) and energy gained by solution (Es ). i:e:; Ib asA dt Ek Ec Er Ed Es : 1 2 Ib , the intensity of total radiation on an inclined surface is obtained [10] from Ib Ig Id cos hi = cos hh Id 1 cos b=2: Where, hi , hh are the incidence angle on an inclined and on a horizontal surface respectively and are given by, hi cos1 cos/ b cos d cos h sin/ b sin d and hh cos1 cos / cos d cos h sin / sin d: The absorptivity of the collector, a is taken as 0.9. The energy lost by solution due to radiation is evaluated [9] by Er r1=es 1=eg 11 ATs4 Tg4 dt: The energy lost by convection from solution to cover is given [9] by Ec hc ATs Tg dt: 5 The natural convection heat transfer coecient for the enclosed space between the solution and the cover is calculated by using one of the following correlations suggested [11] by NuL 1 : RaL cos b < 1708; NuL 1 1:4461 1708=RaL cos b : 1708 < RaL cos b < 5900; NuL 0:229RaL cos b
0:252

3a 3b

6a 6b 6c

: 5900 < RaL cos b < 9:23 104 ;

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NuL 0:157RaL cos b0:285 : 9:23 104 < RaL cos b < 105 :

6d

All the properties of the air are evaluated at Tf Ts Tg =2 and the characteristic length L, is taken as the length of the collector. The heat conducted through the base is calculated by Ek f kATs Ta dt=Dx: 7 The factor f , which includes the eect of side losses, is taken as 110% of the bottom loss [9]. The mass of water evaporated from the euent is computed [4,9] from Ed bm Aps;ave pA hfg dt: According to Dropkins measurements, the psychrometric ratio is given [3] by, hc =bK 950 J kg1 K1 and the relationship between bm and bK is taken [3] from bm 0:622bK =P : The average vapour pressure of water in the euent, ps;ave is taken [4] from ps;ave pw 1 0:000537 S: The energy gained by the solution is calculated [9] by Es Go Cs DTs : The specic heat of the euent, Cs is evaluated [4] by Cs a1 a2 Ts a3 Ts2 a4 Ts3 : The constants a1 , a2 , a3 and a4 are computed from a1 4206:8 6:6197 S 1:2288 102 S2 ; a2 1:1262 5:4178 102 S 2:2719 104 S2 ; a3 1:2026 102 5:5366 104 S 1:8906 106 S2 ; a4 6:8774 107 1:517 106 S 4:4268 109 S2 : Energy balance for the glass cover is given [9] by ag Ib r1=es 1=eg 1 Ts4 Tg4 hc Ts Tg reg Tg4 Te4 hw Tg Ta ; where hw , can be calculated [9] from hw 4:8 3:33 W: 16 The eective sky temperature, Te , is calculated as Ta 6.The computation is carried out by treating the meteorological variables as input data and by assigning an initial value to solution temperature equal to ambient temperature and the time interval, dt, is assumed as 5 s. For this condition, the glass cover temperature and the increase in solution temperature during this time interval is computed by solving Eqs. (15) and (1) respectively. For evaluating DTs in the
1

8 9 10 11 12 13 14a 14b 14c 14d

15

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simulation, the experimentally measured values of solar insolation, ambient temperature, wind speed and relative humidity of the corresponding day and hour were used. Then, the mass of water evaporated during this time interval is evaluated [9] by dm bm Aps;ave pA dt: For the next time step, the parameters are redened as Ts Ts DTs ; m m dm: This procedure is repeated till the closure time of the experimentation. 18 19 17

3. Experimentation Fig. 1 shows the schematic experimental setup. A black bre-reinforced plastic sheet of 4 1 m is used as absorber surface with 75 mm bottom glass wool insulation. The spacing between the plate and the glass cover is chosen as 100 mm to prevent condensation of water at the bottom of the glass cover. The bottom and top side walls of the conventional FPC are removed to permit the water vapour to escape upon vaporization. There are two tankstank A, a calibrated tank and tank B, a constant head tank. The pump P, pumps the euent from tank A to tank B, through pipe line L1 and excess liquor ows back to tank A through pipe line L2 to maintain constant head

L1 B L2 V 4m
x x x x x x x x x x x

L2 W L1

C 1m

P
K

A - Calibrated collection tank L1 - Pipe line to tank B P - Centrifugal pump D - Distribution header x - Thermocouples G - Glass

B - Constant head tank L 2 - Return pipeline to tank A V - Valve C - Collecting trough K - Piezometer tube W - Wooden frame

Fig. 1. FRP at plate collector euent evaporation system.

K. Srithar, A. Mani / Applied Thermal Engineering 24 (2004) 873883 Table 1 Accuracies and ranges of measuring instruments Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 Instrument Kipp-Zonon solarimeter Digital Anemometer Wet and dry bulb thermometer Mercury-in-glass thermometer Accuracy 0.05 W/m 0.1 m/s 0.5 C 0.5 C
2

879

Range 05000 W/m2 0100 m/s )1050 C 0120 C

Error % 2.5% 5% 4% 4%

in the tank B. A thin lm of euent is made to ow on the collector by means of the distribution header D. The ow rate can be controlled by the valve V. The experimental studies were carried out at Madurai, India. The setup was oriented at cs 0 and 10N. The liquor is collected at the bottom end C of the absorber plate and then ows into tank A for recirculation. During experimentation, the concentration of the euent is maintained constant by adding known quantity of fresh water to the tank A on hourly basis. This known quantity of water is equal to the amount of water evaporated during this 1 h, which is measured by using calibrated piezometer. The solar radiation is measured by using calibrated KippZonon Solarimeter with integrator. The solution temperature and plate temperature are measured by using calibrated copper-constantan thermocouples with millivolt meter. Relative humidity of the air is inferred by the measurement of dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures, using calibrated mercury-in-glass thermometers. Calibrated vane type anemometer is used for the measurement of wind speed. Concentration of the solution is estimated based on mass balance by mixing known quantity of sodium chloride salt with water initially. Subsequently, this is measured by using specic gravity meter. The accuracy of various measuring sensors/instruments is shown in the Table 1, along with the parameters range. Error obtained for various measured parameters by error analysis is also presented in this table. During experimentation days, the experiment was started at 9:00 h. Hourly measurements of parameters namely mass ow rate, euent temperature, insolation, wet and dry bulb temperatures, wind speed and evaporation rate were carried out from 9:00 to 17:00 h daily. These experiments were carried out for one year by varying operational parameters.

4. Results and discussion The eect of operational parameters namely euent concentration, mass ow rate and meteorological parameters namely wind speed, relative humidity and solar insolation on evaporation rate of water in the euent is studied. The meteorological parameters shown in the graphs are average values of the day except the solar insolation, which is the maximum of the day. When concentration increases, the evaporation rate decreases. This is because, increase in concentration decreases the partial pressure of water in the euent, which decreases the humidity dierential between the interface of the euent and the air. Fig. 2 depicts this eect. From the theoretical analysis it can be seen that evaporation rate also follows the same trend as that of experimentation. The maximum deviation of the experimental performance is 9% compared to that of the theoretical value.

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1.4

1.2

Evaporation rate, l h-1 m -2

1.0

Theory ........C = 5 % - - - - C = 20 % Experimental C=5% C = 20 %

W = 0.45 ms -1 I g = 855.6 Wm-2 Ta = 31.6 0 C m = 200 l h -1 R.H. = 46.1 %

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Time, h

Fig. 2. Eect of concentration on evaporation rate.

1.4

1.2

Evaporation rate, l h-1 m -2

1.0

Theory ........m = 300 l h-1 - - - - m = 500 l h-1 Experimental m = 300 l h -1 m = 500 l h -1

I g = 895.1 Wm-2 W = 0.52 ms-1 Ta = 30.5 0 C R.H. = 35.9 % C=5%

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Time, h

Fig. 3. Eect of mass ow rate on evaporation rate.

Fig. 3 exhibits the eect of mass ow rate on water evaporation rate. As the mass ow rate increases, the plate temperature decreases due to increase in heat transfer co-ecient between the plate and the euent. On the other hand, amount of heat required to raise the temperature of euent increases due to increase in mass ow rate. Due to the overriding eect of the latter phenomena, the euent temperature decreases, resulting in decrease in partial pressure dierence

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1.4 Theory ........ Ig = 1049 W m-2 - - - - I g = 853 W m -2 Experimental Ig = 853 Wm-2 I g = 1049 Wm-2

881

1.2

Evaporation rate, l h -1 m -2

1.0

C=5% Ta = 28.4 0 C m = 200 l h-1 R.H. = 48.4 % W = 0.44 ms -1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Time, h

Fig. 4. Eect of solar insolation on evaporation rate.

between the euent and the air. Hence, the evaporation rate decreases with increase in mass ow rate. The same trend can be seen from the theoretical analysis with the maximum deviation of 5%. The euent temperature increases with increase in solar radiation, which increases the evaporation rate due to increase in partial pressure between the euent and the air. Fig. 4 shows this eect with 9% maximum deviation from the theory. Fig. 5 presents the eect of relative humidity on the euent evaporation rate. Increase in relative humidity decreases the partial pressure dierence between the interface of the euent and
1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Evaporation rate, l h-1 m -2

Theory: ........ R.H. = 36.5 % - - - - R.H. = 51.0 % Experimental: R.H. = 36.5 % R.H. = 51.0 %

I g = 973.0 Wm-2 Ta= 30.40 C m = 300 lh -1 W= 0.47 ms -1 C=5%

Time, h

Fig. 5. Eect of relative humidity on evaporation rate.

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1.6

Evaporation rate, l h-1 m -2

Theory ........ W = 1.04 ms-1 1.4 - - - - W = 0.531 ms-1 Experimental W = 1.04 ms-1 1.2 W = 0.531 ms-1
1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

C = 10 % Ig = 1020.5 Wm-2 Ta = 32.80 C m = 500 lh-1 R.H. = 48.0 %

15

16

17

18

Time, h

Fig. 6. Eect of wind speed on evaporation rate.

the air and hence the evaporation rate decreases. The maximum dierence between the theory and experimentation is 5%. As the wind speed increases, the quantity of air passes through the passage between the solution and glass cover increases. This causes augmentation in the mass transfer rate leading to increase in evaporation rate. This can be seen in Fig. 6, which deviates by a maximum of 6% from the theoretical analysis. High concentration of the euent increases the viscosity and thereby demands increased pumping power. There is a possibility of crystalisation in the pipes, valves and pumps etc., due to the change in operating conditions and after experimentations due to evaporation of water in wetted left out liquid in the setup. To avoid this problem, the maximum concentration in this study is restricted to 20%. 5. Conclusions The evaporation rate of water in the euent increases, due to increase in insolation, wind speed and due to decrease in relative humidity, mass ow rate and euent concentration. The maximum deviation of the performance is 10% in comparison with that of the theoretical analysis. It can be seen that theoretical and experimental performance agrees well. This system augments the evaporation rate by 2.23.2 times comparing to conventional shallow solar pans, which will, reduces the area by about 29%. References
[1] R.U. Yang, W. Pai-Lu, A simulation study of performance evaluation of single glazed and double-glazed collectors/regenerators for an open-cycle absorption solar cooling system, Solar Energy 71 (4) (2001) 263268.

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[2] A. Kakabaev, M. Golaev, Glazed at surface as a solution regenerator for use in an absorption solar cooling system, Geliotekhnika 7 (4) (1971) 4449. [3] P. Gandhidasan, A simple analysis of an open regeneration system, Solar Energy 31 (3) (1983) 343345. [4] A. Mani, S. Srinivasa Murthy, Solar evaporation ponds for tannery euent treatment, in: A technical report to TALCO Ltd., Chennai, India, 1993. [5] B. Jacov, A. Sahasranaman, S. Solomon, Mani. A, Venkatesh. A, Accelerated evaporation of saline streams in solar pans, in: Proceedings of XXVI IULTCS, Cape Town, South Africa, 2001. [6] A. Mani, K. Srithar, Experimental studies on an open at plate collector for treating tannery euent, in: Proceedings of ISES Solar world congress (2001), Adelaide, South Australia, 2001. [7] P. Gandhidasan, Closed type solar regenerator: analysis and simulation, Journal of energy resource technology 117 (1995) 5861. [8] R.K. Collier, The analysis and simulation of an open cycle absorption refrigeration system, Solar Energy 23 (1979) 357366. [9] P. Gandhidasan, Investigations of heat and mass transfer processes in a solar regenerator, in: Ph.D. thesis, IITMadras, Chennai, 1978. [10] A. Mani, A. Venkatesh, V. Sriramulu, Theoretical and experimental investigation of generators in a two stage solar refrigerator, Energy 16 (3) (1991) 675683. [11] S.P. Sukhatme, Solar Energy, Tata McGraw-Hill publishing company limited, New Delhi, India, 1997.