Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Energy and exergy efciency of a at plate solar collector using pH

treated Al2O3 nanouid
Z. Said a, b, *, R. Saidur c, M.A. Sabiha b, A. Hepbasli d, N.A. Rahim e
a
Department of Engineering Systems and Management (ESM), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
c
Centre of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy (CoRE-RE), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
d
Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yasar University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
e
UM Power Energy Dedicated Advanced Centre (UMPEDAC), Level 4, Wisma R&D, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Application of nanouid to increase the thermal efciency of a traditional solar collector is getting
Received 29 April 2015 tremendous attention among the scientic community. Al2O3ewater nanouid, as a working uid and its
Received in revised form effect on the energy and exergy efciencies of a at plate solar collector was examined experimentally.
21 July 2015
Volume fraction used for this study was 0.1% and 0.3%, while the size of the nanoparticles was ~13 nm.
Accepted 22 July 2015
Available online 29 July 2015
Experiments were carried out using a stable nanouid which was obtained by controlling the pH of the
solution over a period of 30 days. The mass ow rates of the nanouid varied from 0.5 to 1.5 kg/min.
Energy and exergy efciencies of a at plate solar collector using water and nanouids as working uids
Keywords:
Nanouid
were matched. The results revealed that nanouids increased the energy efciency by 83.5% for 0.3% v/v
Flat plate solar collector and 1.5 kg/min, whereas the exergy efciency was enhanced by up to 20.3% for 0.1% v/v and 1 kg/min.
Energy Thermal efciency of the system was found to be more than 50% compared to the existing system
Exergy available in the literature. New ndings on the stability and exergy analysis of the solar collector system
Efciency improvement operated with a pH controlled nanouid are reported.
Al2O3 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction depends on the absorption of solar radiation, which then in the

Solar energy research eld is gaining increasing responsiveness
in thermal applications, due to their extraordinary performance in
energy storage density and energy conversion efciency. Solar
thermal processing is being used as the cleaner pathways for the
production of hydrogen, carbon nano particles, industrial carbon
black, and metals with substantially reduced CO2 (Ozalp et al.,
2010). For many years solar collectors have been existed. In the
current years their practices are undergoing resurgence due to the
focus in renewable energy sources (Joshi et al., 2005; Lee and
Sharma, 2007; Sutthivirode et al., 2009; Fong et al., 2012; Tian
and Zhao, 2013). Flat plate solar collectors have been broadly
used to enhance the working uid temperature within the range of
30
Ce100
C. The performance of a at plate solar collector
* Corresponding author. Department of Engineering Systems and Management
(ESM), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates.
E-mail addresses: zaffar.ks@gmail.com, zsaid@masdar.ac.ae (Z. Said).
form of absorbed energy is transferred to the working uid inside
the pipes of the solar collector (Kalogirou, 2004). Water, Ethylene
glycol, acetone or a combination of water and ethylene glycol can
be used as the working uid (Choi and Eastman, 1995; Prasher et al.,
2005), but the thermal conductivity of these uids is low. Flat plate
solar collectors are mainly used in domestic hot water system
(Zambrana-Vasquez et al., 2015). Therefore, improving the perfor-
mance of this type of solar collector is extremely crucial.
The rst law of thermodynamics cannot identify the inner losses
for calculating the at plate solar collector's efciency. However,
second law of thermodynamics (i.e. exergy analysis) can determine
and evaluate the causes of thermodynamic imperfection and able
to indicate the possibilities of thermodynamic improvement of a
system (Amini et al., 2007; Rosen, 2008). Though the rst law of
thermodynamics has been used by engineers and scientists but in
recent years exergy concept has gained considerable interests in
the thermodynamic analysis of thermal processes (Koroneos and
Tsarouhis, 2012). Thus, the aim of this study will be on the
comprehensive energy and exergy investigation of a at plate solar
collector operated with nanouids.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.07.115
0959-6526/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
3916 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926

Nomenclature Q_ s energy rate engrossed, W

Q_ sun;in energy gain rate, W
Ac collector area, m2
R ideal gas constant, J K1 mol1
Cp specic heat, J/kg K
Re Reynolds number (dimensionless)
d diameter of pipe, m
sa entropy generation to surrounding, J/kg K
DH hydraulic diameter, m
sin entropy generation at inlet, J/kg K
_
Ex exergy rate at inlet, W
in sout entropy generation at outlet, J/kg K
_ out
Ex exergy rate at outlet, W S absorbed irradiation, W/m2
_
Ex rate of irreversibility, W S_gen entropy generation rate, W/K
dest
_
Ex exergy rate received from solar radiation, W Ta ambient temperature, K
heat
_
Ex exergy output rate from the system, W Ts sun temperature, K
work
_
Ex Tsur surrounding/ambient temperature, K
mass;in Exergy rate associated with mass at inlet, W
_ TW wall temperature, K
Exmass;out exergy rate associated with mass at outlet, W _
W work rate or power, W
E_ X;sun exergy rate, W
Dl Length of pipe, m
f friction factor Dh specic enthalpy change, J/kg
h specic enthalpy, J/kg Dp pressure drop, Pa
hin specic enthalpy at inlet, J/kg Ds change in entropy generation, J/kg K
hout specic enthalpy at outlet, J/kg o optical efciency (dimensionless)
hnf heat transfer coefcient, W/m2 hII exergetic efciency (dimensionless)
IT incident solar energy per unit area, W/m2 m viscosity, N s/m2
kp thermal conductivity of nanoparticle, W/m K t transmittance
K loss coefcient (dimensionless) a absorptance
mass ow rate, kg/s F nanoparticles volume fraction, %
V velocity of uid, m/s r density, kg/m3
P pressure, Pa s overall entropy production, J/kg K
J specic exergy, J/kg k thermal conductivity, W/m K
q convective heat transfer rate, W
Q_ o heat loss rate to the ambient, W

Challenged with insufcient energy and material resources and
undesirable man made climate changes, science is searching for
new and innovative strategies to save, transfer, and store thermal
energy. Presently, one of the utmost intensively debated alterna-
tives is the so-called nanouids. The suspension of metal or metal
oxide nanoparticles and CNTs in a base uid is known as a nanouid
(Choi and Eastman, 1995). Nanouids are a new and promising
option as working uids in thermosyphons, heat pipes, and solar
collectors (Buschmann, 2013; Said et al., 2015). Alumina is the most
cost effective and widely used material in the family of engineering
ceramics (Haddad et al., 2014). A large number of Al2O3-based
nanouids are prepared by the two-step method using an ultra-
sonic vibrator, which results in non-stable nanouids for a long
period of time. One of the utmost tasks to be accomplished is the
stability of nanouids (Wei et al., 2009; Yu and Xie, 2012) for the
better thermal performance. Different approaches have been
selected by various authors for preparing stable suspensions using
different surfactant, optimizing the pH, temperature for numerous
nanoparticle based uids, and by surface modication of the par-
ticles. Studies on using high pressure homogenizer for preparation
of Al2O3-based nanouids are limited (Sridhara and Satapathy,
2011; Bobbo et al., 2012).
Signicant enhancements in the thermal conductivity, and heat
transfer coefcient of working uid, are known as the exceptional
physical effects of nanouids. Solid phase metals have higher
thermal conductivity than the conventional uids (Bejan and Kraus,
2003). Therefore, metal nanoparticles suspended in uids are
anticipated to improve thermal conductivity compared to pure
uids. Li and Peterson (Li and Peterson, 2006) dispersed oxide
nanoparticles (CuO and Al2O3 with 6% and 10% volume fractions) in
a liquid and reported enhancement in thermal conductivity at 34
C
by a factor of 1.52 and 1.3, respectively. Grimm (Grimm, 1993)
reported 100% improvement in the thermal conductivity of the
nanouid for 0.5e10 wt. % of alumina nanoparticles suspended in
base uid.
Recently, several studies have used nanouids in solar collectors
to improve the thermal performance of the system. The effect of
using Al2O3 nanouids in a at plate solar collector as an absorbing
medium was studied by Tiwari et al. (2013). The effect of particle %
v/v and mass ow rate on the efciency of the collector was also
considered in their study. The authors found a 31.64% improvement
in thermal efciency for the 1.5% of Al2O3 nanouid (Li and
Peterson, 2006). A similar experiment was done by Youse et al.
(2012a,b) to investigate the effect of Al2O3eH2O based working
uid on the efciency of a at plate solar collector. Their result
showed that the efciency of solar collector was increased by 28.3%,
while using 0.2% Al2O3 nanouid instead of water as a working
uid. Experimental investigations on the effect of Multi Walled
Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) water nanouids on the energy ef-
ciency of at plate solar collector by Youse et al. showed that the
improvement in the energy of the collector increased by 35%, using
(MWCNTs) water nanouid as the working uid (Youse et al.,
2012a; Youse et al., 2012b). Otanicar et al. (2010) experimentally
investigated different nanouids, and the effect of these nanouids
on the efciency of a micro-solar thermal collector. An efciency
enhancement of up to 5% was reported by them using nanouid as
an absorption medium. Natarajan and Sathish used carbon nano-
tubes as a medium of heat transport to enhance the thermal con-
ductivity of base uids, and reported improved efciency of the
conventional solar water heater (Natarajan and Sathish, 2009).
Thus, it is important to improve the efciency and performance of
the solar thermal systems. To the best of our knowledge, we found
that almost all of the previous works were directed on the appli-
cations of nanouids in collectors and solar water heaters (Otanicar
 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926 3917

et al., 2010; Youse et al., 2012a; Youse et al., 2012b; Mahian et al., where Ut is the coefcient of the total heat loss rate. For simpli-
2013; Tiwari et al., 2013). None of the above mentioned researchers cation, the mean system temperature can be taken as the arith-
used a pH control for longer stability of Al2O3eH2O nanouid. metic mean of the initial and nal water temperature in the storage
Based on the above literature study, it has been found that au- tank as given below:
thors (Otanicar et al., 2010; Youse et al., 2012a; Youse et al.,
2012b; Said et al., 2013b; Tiwari et al., 2013) focused on the rst Ti Tf
Tm;st (6)
law efciency of the solar collector operated with nanouids or 2
MWCNTs. However, we have investigated exergy efciency of the
The thermal efciency of the at plate solar collector (h), is the
solar collector operated with nanouids. Moreover, rst law ef-
ratio of energy storage in the storage tank to the total solar radia-
ciency of the present investigation found to be higher compared to
tion on the collector, which can be expressed as (Al-Madani, 2006;
the existing systems. Lastly, stability of the nanouid obtained by
Roonprasang et al., 2008; Ceylan, 2012):
using a pH control approach was found to be better than the
existing literature.

mnf Cnf Tf  Ti
h (7)
IT Ap
2. Methodology

2.1. Solar water heater

2.1.2. Exergy analysis
Solar water heaters are the natural and carbon free process to Exergy is the maximum output that can be achieved relative to
get hot water for many useful applications such as domestic, in- the environment temperature. The general equation of the exergy
dustrial and commercial applications. A solar water heater basically balance is (Suzuki, 1988; Farahat et al., 2009):
consists of a collector and insulated storage; collector is used for
collecting solar radiation from sun and storage tank for storing the E_ in E_ s E_ out E_ l E_ d 0 (8)
hot water. Basic functioning of solar water heater is that solar en-
ergy from the sun incident on the absorber panel coated with where E_ in is inlet exergy rate, E_ s is stored exergy rate, E_ out is outlet
selected coating transfers the heat to the water owing through the exergy rate, E_ l is leakage exergy rate, E_ d is destroyed exergy rate.
tubes and the water passing through the tube gets heated which is The inlet exergy rate measures the uid ow and the absorbed
nally delivered to the storage tank. In general, the temperature of solar radiation rate. The inlet exergy rate with uid ow can be
water goes up to 60e70
C on a good sunny day and is useful for calculated by Farahat et al. (2009) and Bejan (1988):
many real life applications (Park et al., 2014).   
T _ in
mDP
Energy is based on the rst law of thermodynamics and gives E_ in;f mC
_ p Tin  Ta  Ta ln in (9)
the quantity of energy only. While exergy is based on the second Ta r
law of thermodynamics and represents the quality of energy and
involves the irreversibility while analysing system efciency. where DPin is the pressure difference of the uid with the sur-
Exergy analysis identies the causes, locations and magnitude of roundings at entrance, r is uid density.
the system inefciencies and provides the true measure how a The absorbed solar radiation exergy rate can be calculated as:
system approaches to the ideal (Dincer and Rosen).  
Ta
E_ in;Q hIT AP 1  (10)
Ts
2.1.1. Energy analysis
Amount of energy conserved is overall the same but in different where Ts is apparent sun temperature and equals to 75% of black-
forms of energy i.e. thermal, mechanical, internal, potential, kinetic body temperature of the sun (Bejan et al., 1981).
experience measurable changes. The general energy balance equa- Total inlet exergy rate of the solar collector can be calculated as:
tion of the solar water heater (for a stationary process observed
through a control volume) may be given as below (Ceylan, 2012): E_ in E_ in;f E_ in;Q (11)

Qc Qw Qb QL (1) At steady state conditions, where the uid is owing, the stored
exergy rate is zero.
where, Qc presents the absorbed energy by the collector, Qw pre-
sents the stored energy in the storage tank, Qb presents the stored E_ s 0 (12)
energy in the body and QL presents the lost energy (Chen et al.,
2009). The gained useful energy in the tank by water is: When only the exergy rate of outlet uid ow is considered, the
outlet exergy rate can be dened as (Kotas, 1995):
Qw Qc  Qb  QL (2)   
T _ out
mDP
The energy storage in the tank is related to the mass and the E_ out;f mC
_ p Tout  Ta  Ta ln out (13)
Ta r
difference in temperature between the initial and nal temperature
of water in the storage tank (Chen et al., 2009; Esen et al., 2009). The heat leakage from the absorber plate to the environment

 can be dened as the leakage exergy rate and calculated as (Gupta
Qw mw Cpw Tf  Ti (3) and Saha, 1990):
 
Using the above equation, Qb and QL can be given by: Ta
E_ l UAP TP  Ta 1  (14)

 Tp
Qb mb Cb Tf  Ti (4)
  where the overall heat loss coefcient U is optimized at 4:6797 mW2 K
QL Ut Tm;st  Ta (5) (Farahat et al., 2009).
3918 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926

The destroyed exergy rate caused by the temperature difference nanouids preparation also deserves the similar devotion since the
between the absorber plate surface and the sun can be expressed as nal properties of nanouids are reliant on the stability of the
(Gupta and Saha, 1990): dispersion (Haddad et al., 2014). The analytical analysis shows that
  for a given particle size and zeta-potential, pH value of 7e9 gives a
1 1
E_ d;DTS hIT AP Ta  (15) higher stability ratio (W) and the same range of pH value is also
Tp Ts reported by Huang et al. (2009) for stability. Very few literature is
The destroyed exergy rate by pressure drop is expressed by available on the stability of Al2O3 nanouids using different pH
Suzuki (1988): values (acidic or basic media) (Min et al., 2008; Sajid et al., 2014).
  Moreover, Al2O3 is totally insoluble in water and it is amphoteric in
Ta ln TTouta nature. To functionalize nanoparticles HCl solution was used. Ionic
_
mDP
E_ d;DP  (16) strength of base-uid can be adjusted tuning pH value (Min et al.,
r Tout  Tin 2008). The above information suggests for a weak acidic base-
uid to get aforementioned pH value. For reducing the aggrega-
The destroyed exergy rate caused by the temperature difference
tion and enhancing the dispersion behavior of Al2O3 nanoparticles
between the absorber plate surface and the agent uid can be
suspended in the base uid, two notable methods were applied in
calculated from Suzuki (1988):
    this study: (i) using pH 4 solution as the base uid and (ii) using
T T  Tin high pressure Homogenizer (capacity up to 2000 bar) was used to
E_ d;DTf mC
_ p Ta ln out  out (17)
Tin Tp optimize the nanoparticles suspension (0.1% and 0.3%v/v) with pH
4 solution. A high pressure Homogenizer is an accepted machine for
So, the total destroyed exergy rate can be calculated from: dissolving the accumulated nanoparticle (Wei et al., 2009). Al2O3
E_ d E_ d;DTS E_ d;DP E_ d;DTf (18) nanoparticles with 0.1% v/v and 0.3% v/v were added to pH 4 so-
lution (base uid) to obtain a homogeneously dispersed solution,
The exergy destruction rate can also be expressed from: after passing the solution through several cycles for 30 min in a
high pressure Homogenizer. Addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles to the
E_ d Ta S_gen (19) pH 4 solution tends to increase the pH value ranging from 6 to 9
based on the % v/v (Haddad et al., 2014).
where S_gen is the overall rate of entropy generation and can be Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and
calculated from Bejan (1996a): Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) were employed to
T Q_ Q_ investigate the morphological characteristics of the nanoparticles.
S_gen mC
_ p ln out  S O (20) A Zeta-seizer Nano ZS (Malvern) was used to obtain the average
Tin Ts Ta
diameter of the nanoparticles immersed in the base uids. DLS
Where Q_ S is solar energy absorbed (W) by the collector surface as approach is used to give the hydrodynamic radius of particles in the
expressed by Esen (2008): solution. The stability time of Al2O3eH2O is further supported by
visual images shown in Fig. 5. A KD2 Pro thermal property analyzer
Q_ S IT taAP (21) (Decagon, USA) was employed to obtain thermal conductivity of the
nanouids.
And Q_ O is the heat loss to the environment (W),

Q_ O Q_ S  mC
_ P Tout  Tin (22) 3.3. Experimental procedure

Ultimately, combining all the expression above, the exergy ef-
ciency equation of the solar collector can be analyzed (Farahat
et al., 2009):
   
m_ Cp Tout  Tin  Ta ln TTout  DP
in r at plate solar collector. The properties Al2O3 used for thermal
hex  
Ta
IT Ap 1  Ts
3. Experimental descriptions
3.1. Material
Commercial spherical shape Al2O3 nanopowder (Product ID:
718475) from Sigma Aldrich, Malaysia with 99.8% trace metal basis
and an average diameter of ~13 nm was used for the experimental
investigation. Reagent grade chemicals were used in the experi-
mental investigation. Distilled water was used as a base uid while
hydrochloric acid (HCl-37%) was also used to maintain the pH of the
base uid.
3.2. Preparation method and characterization
The previous decade has seen the speedy progress of nanouid
science in diverse aspects, where the researchers concentrated
mostly on the improvement of heat transfer. Nevertheless
Fig. 1, shows the photographic image of the solar collector. Fig. 2,
shows the schematic presentation of the solar collector. The
experiment was performed at the University Malaya, Malaysia.
Table 2, shows the environmental and analytical conditions for the
(23) performance calculations are presented in Table 1. For non-tracking
solar collection systems, the tilt angle has a predominant effect on
the quantity of energy that the system can intercept. An optimum
tilt angle of this at plate solar collector is taken as 22
for the
maximum average daily radiation. An electric pump is used in this
solar collector system for the force convection heat transfer. The
heat generated from the collector cycle is absorbed by the tank,
with a capacity of 50 L, as shown in Fig. 2. A heat exchanger is used
outside the tank that transfers the heat load of the solar cycle to the
water. A ow meter is connected to the water pipe before the
electric pump (Fig. 2) to measure the ow of uids. A simple valve is
used to control the mass ow rate of the working uid in the solar
system. Five K type thermocouples were used to measure the uid
temperatures at the entering and exit point of the solar collector as
shown in Fig. 2. Then these were connected to a 10 channel data
logger for data storage and analysis. A Li-COR Pyranometer (PY
82188) is used to measure the total solar radiation. The pressure
difference between the entry and exit point, was measured using a
pressure sensor. A PROVA (AV M-07) Anemometer is used to
measure the wind speed. All the data were then transferred from
data logger into the computer by an interface cable. Calibration of
 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926 3919

Fig. 1. Photograph of the experimental setup: (a) Front view (b) Back view (c) Right side view & (d) Left side view.

the entire system was carried out several times to obtain accurate : :
Dqa qa DGc
data. All the instruments used for this experiment were calibrated Dhen (25)
according to the standards provided. Gc G2c

where each error component can be evaluated through the

4. Testing method
following relations:
An ASHARE Standard 93e2003 (Rojas et al., 2008) was used to !  
DT Ta DT Ta
assess the thermal performance of the collector. The incident ra- DExheat 2 Ac taGc 1  Ac taDGc (26)
diation, ambient temperature inlet and outlet uid temperatures Ts Ts Ts
were measured and used for the thermal performance of the col-
: : :
lector. Thermo-physical properties of Al2O3 and base uid are
DI Ta DSgen Sgen DT (27)
presented in Table 1. Specications and input parameters were
presented in Table 2. These values are needed for the calculation of
:
 
the rst and second law efciency analysis of the solar collector. Pout T Tout Tin :
DS gen R ln Cp ln in Cp Dm
Pin Tout Ta
5. Uncertainty analysis DT : 1 1 2
Gc Ac ta mCp
Ta2 Tout Tin Ta
Uncertainty is needed to prove the accuracy of the experiments. !   (28)
There are two kinds of error which could take place for the present Tout Tin : 1 1
DT m R DP
study. One group could come from the direct measurement pa- Ta2 Pout Pin
rameters such as solar radiation ux (DGc ),DT,DP and the second  
1 1
group of errors could come from the indirect measurements, such Ac ta DGc
Ts Ta
as energy and exergy efciencies. The following relations can be
used based on the Luminosu and Fara (2005) method:  : :
: :
: DmTout Tin 2mDT
_ Dqa Cp (29)
DI I Ex heat Ac
Dhex (24)
_
Ex _
Ex2
heat heat For this experiment, K-type thermocouples with an accuracy of
and 2.2
C or 0.75%, a PROVA (AV M07) anemometer with accuracy
3920 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the experimental setup.

3%, pressure transducer with 0.3% (at 25
C) accuracy (AZ
82100, digital manometer) and Li-COR Pyranometer (PY 82188)
with 1% accuracy were employed. Therefore, the maximum errors
for the indirect measuring of energy and exergy efciencies were
estimated to be 4.52% and 3.75% using Eqs. (24) and (25).
6. Results and discussion
6.1. Stability and characterization of nanouids
Fig. 3 displays the particle size distributions with respect to the
intensity acquired from the Zeta-seizer at dissimilar days. Fig. 4
presents SEM and TEM images. The high-pressure Homogenizer
was used to homogeneously disperse the well-isolated primary
particles. Therefore, better stability and size reduction of the
16
14
1st Day
12 After 7 days
Intensity %
nanoparticles was obtained since the high pressure Homogenizer
was found to provide long-term stable and well-dispersed nano-
uids and better particle breakdown.
Fig. 5 shows the visual appearances of the nanouids with no
sign of aggregation for a period of a 30 days.
According to earlier studies (Vatanpour et al., 2011; Said et al.,
2013a; Said et al., 2013b), with higher concentration of nano-
particles in a solution, nanoparticles tend to agglomerate, therefore,
resulting in reduced stability of the nanouids. It is witnessed that
the stability of the prepared nanouid with a lower % v/v of
nanoparticles immersed into the base uid is stable for a longer
period of time compared to the nanouids with higher volume
fraction. Nanouids with an average particle size of 106 nm and
with a high zeta potential value of 58.4 mV is presented in Table 3.
These values were obtained for more than a month period of time.
It was witnessed that with the growing volume fraction, the pH
shifts close to a basic value of (7e14). It was noted from the
experimental ndings that pH 9 is the best value for a stable
solution.
6.2. Thermal performance

10 After 30 days

8 6.2.1. Solar radiation

Fig. 6 presents the recorded data for solar radiation on a clear
6
and cloudy day. This data is used for calculating the overall ener-
4 getic and exergetic efciency of a at plate solar collector, pre-
sented in Fig. 15.
2

0
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000
Size (nm)
6.2.2. Thermal conductivity
Since energy and exergy efciencies are dependent on the
Fig. 3. Size presentation of watereAl2O3 0.1% nanouids with pH 9. thermal conductivity of a nanouid, details of the thermal
 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926 3921

Fig. 4. (a) SEM of Al2O3 nanoparticles. (b) TEM images of Al2O3/water using control pH 9.

Fig. 5. Prepared Al2O3 nanouid solutions (a) Samples on the rst day of preparations (b) Samples after 30 days of preparations.

Table 1
Physical characteristics of Al2O3 and base uid (Said et al., 2013a; Said et al., 2013b).

Particle & base uid Average particle size (nm) Actual density (kg/m3) Cp(J/kg K) K (W/mK) Viscosity (m.Pa.s)

Al2O3 (gamma) 13 3960 773 40

Al2O3eH2O (0.1%v/v) 13 1020.5 3841.1
Al2O3eH2O (0.3%v/v) 13 1080.5 3159.3
Water 997.1 4179 0.605 0.89

conductivity analysis with the variation of temperature, concen-

trations are presented in this section.
Table 2
Fig. 7 presents thermal conductivity of the experimental data
Specications for the at plate solar collector studied.
with the variation of % v/v of nanoparticles. Results of experimental
Parameters of collector Value investigation were compared with the ndings available in the
Dimension L2000 mm  W1000 mm  T80 mm literature (Das et al., 2003; Yu and Choi, 2003; Xie et al., 2005).
Aperture area 1.84 m2 Fig. 7 shows that with the growing volume fraction, the thermal
Weight 36 kg conductivity of the nanouids increases. Since higher concentra-
Frame Aluminum Alloy, Anodized
Working uids in ow ducts Water and Al2O3 based nanouid
tion of the nano-particles leads to higher thermal conductivity of
Absorption area, Ap 1.84 m2 the working uid, thus, resulting in a better heat transfer rate for
Wind speed 5 m/s the solar collector.
Collector tilt, bo 22
Fig. 8 presents thermal conductivity variation with temperature
Absorption rate 0.94
and comparison with the existing literature.
Emittance 0.12
Heat transfer coefcient 4.398 The experimental results presented in Fig. 8 agree well with the
Header material Copper TP2 literature (Chon and Kihm, 2005). Improved thermal conductivity
Header tube size F22 mm  t0.6 mm(2pcs) results, due to larger temperature differences, which result in
Riser tube material Copper TP2 higher speed of molecules, and greater impacts between nano-
Riser tube size F10 mm  t0.45 mm (8pcs)
particles and the molecules of bulk liquid (Das et al., 2003; Chon
3922 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926

Table 3
1.28 Das et al. 2003
Zeta potential, particle size and pH values of Al2O3/water 13 nm particles suspended
in water. Xie et al. model 2005
1.23 Yu and Choi model 2003
Nominal particle Zeta potential Particle size (nm) pH
Exp. Al2O3/water
size (mV) from DLS using 1.18
high pressure

Keff/Kb
Homogenizer
1.13
13 nm 58.4 106 9.0
13 nm 54.3 109 8.1 1.08
13 nm 49.5 123.9 7.0
13 nm 35.9 126.4 6.1
1.03

and Kihm, 2005; Li and Peterson, 2006; Mintsa et al., 2009). The
main mechanism behind the thermal conductivity improvement in
nanouids is said to be as the stochastic motion of the nano-
particles. It was noted that with the increasing volume fraction, the
temperature difference between inlet and outlet was higher for
nanouids operated collector compared to water as shown in
Fig. 14. This indicates that nanouids can be used for higher heat
transfer rate. Higher temperatures of nanouids results in more
active Brownian motion of nanoparticles. The Brownian motion is
dependent on the uid temperature.
Fig. 9 illustrates the thermal conductivity improvement of
Al2O3ewater nanouids at a volume fraction of 0.1%e0.3%,
respectively. The thermal conductivity improvement is directly
proportional to the % v/v and surges up to 6.8% with 0.3% v/v of
Al2O3, it improved from 2.46% to 6.80%. The experimental results
presented in Fig. 9 conrm the values achieved in other studies
(Vatanpour et al., 2011).
As it is presented in Figs. 7e9 thermal conductivity improves
with the growing % v/v as well as with increasing temperatures. An
increase in the heat loss may be faced in conventional collectors
with the increasing uid temperature. However, the heat losses for
0.3% v/v nanouid are lower in comparison with 0.1% v/v.
6.2.3. Efciencies with respect to mass ow rate
The at plate solar collector was tested at different mass ow
rates of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 kg/min. Each investigation was repeated for
several days, in order to achieve the best results with the least error.
A ow meter was used for controlling the mass ow rate. In this
part, both 0.1% and 0.3% v/v of nanoparticles with a controlled pH
were used as a working uid. The collector efciency at mass ow
rates of 0.5 kg/min, 1.0 kg/min and 1.5 kg/min were experimentally
investigated. The effect of mass ow rate on energy efciency, en-
tropy generation, exergy destruction and exergy efciency are
presented in Figs. 10e13, respectively. It is noticed from the energy
Solar insolation on a clear day Solar insolation on a cloudy day
1400
0.98
0.000 0.010 0.020 0.030 0.040 0.050 0.060
% v/v()
Fig. 7. Models and investigational data on the thermal conductivity of Al2O3/water
nanouids at changing volume fractions.
gain equation that the useful solar energy is directly proportional to
mass ow rate for a certain temperature increase. It was clear that
when the mass ow rate, and the inlet temperature increased; the
temperature difference reduced. According to the Figs., the ef-
ciency of the solar collector at low temperature differences de-
creases as the mass ow rate increases.
6.2.4. First law based efciency
Table below shows the experimental data obtained from the
setup with water and with Al2O3eH2O (Table 4).
Energy efciency has been estimated using Eq. (7) and input
data from Tables 1 and 2 presented in Fig. 10.
Fig. 10 demonstrates that the collector efciency enhances with
the rising volume fraction. It has been observed that solar collector
operated with various concentrations of nanouids has a higher
thermal efciency than the solar collected operated with water as a
working uid. The increase in the efciency can be a result of the
increased thermal conductivity, which gives an improved convec-
tive heat transfer coefcient. An increase of 73.7% energy efciency
was observed for 0.1% vol., whereas an increase of 83.51% energy
efciency was observed for 0.3% vol. at the same ow rate (1.5 kg/
min). In case of water, a maximum energy efciency of 42.07% is
observed for 0.5 kg/min, whereas an energy efciency of 20.91% is
observed for 1.5 kg/min.
6.2.5. Entropy generation and exergy destruction of Al2O3 nanouid
Heat transfer is an irreversible, non-equilibrium process from
the thermodynamic viewpoint. Entropy generation was considered
to be a measure of irreversibility (Onsager, 1931a, 1931b; Kreuzer,
1981). The irreversible losses affect the performance of the ther-
mal devices that results in an increased entropy and decreased
thermal efciency. It is essential to calculate the entropy generation

1200 1.25
Thermal conductivity enhancment

Al2O3, ~13nm (Experimental) C.H. Chon et al. 2005

Solar radiation (W/m)

1.23
1000
1.21
800 1.19
(Knf/Kb)

1.17
600
1.15
400 1.13
1.11
200
1.09
0 1.07
9.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00 18.00 15 25 35 45 55 65 75
Time of day (hour) Temperature (C)

Fig. 6. Solar radiation on a clear day and cloudy day. Fig. 8. Thermal conductivity of nanouids with respect to increasing temperature.
 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926 3923

Experimental data Das et al. (2003) Linear (Experimental data) 1900

0.30% 0.10% Water
1.08
1800
1.07

Exergy destruction, W
R = 0.9965
1.06 1700
1.05
1600
Knf/Kb

1.04
1.03
1500
1.02
1.01 1400
1.00
1300
0.99
0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 Flow rate, kg/min
volume fraction,
Fig. 12. Exergy destruction rate with respect to mass ow rate and volume fraction.
Fig. 9. Thermal conductivity of Al2O3eH2O with respect to volume fraction.

23
90 0.30% 0.10%
0.30% 0.10% Water 21 Water
80 19
Energy efficiency, %

70 17

Exergy efficiency, %
60 15
13
50
11
40
9
30 7
20 5
0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5
3
Flow rate, kg/min
0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5
Fig. 10. The energy efciency at different mass ow rates and different volume Flow rate, kg/min
fractions.
Fig. 13. Exergy efciency with respect to mass ow rate and volume fraction.

or exergy destruction resulting from the heat transfer and viscous

A decrease in the entropy generation is observed with the
friction as a function of the design variables selected for the optimal
increasing volume fraction. This happens because of the increasing
analysis. Fig. 11 presents the entropy generation (S_gen ) with regard
heat ux along the absorber plate, thus governing the irreversibility
to mass ow rate and different volume concentrations of nano-
turn out. As a result, enhanced thermal conductivity is obtained
uids. Entropy generation (S_gen ) is calculated using Eq. (20) and
with the increment in the volume fraction of the nanoparticles,
data from Tables 1 and 2
further proceeding to increase thermal conductance. Therefore, a
Fig. 11 shows the exergy destruction with respect to different %
decline in the irreversibility is observed as a consequence of heat
v/v and mass ow rate. Reduced exergy destruction with the
transfer, which has a far greater effect compared to that of the
increasing ow rate compared to water is observed for Al2O3eH2O,
viscous effects of entropy generation. On the other hand, with the
which results in lower exergy destruction. Entropy generation
growing nanoparticles volume fraction, the useful viscosity of
found to be much lower compared to water. The exergy destruction
nanouids is generated. The useful viscosity of nanouids gives rise
(or irreversibility) rate, shown in Fig. 12, is calculated using Eq. (19)
to the uid friction involvement in entropy generation, presented
and data from Tables 1 and 2
in Fig. 12. For a mass ow rate of 1.5 kg/min, nanouid with 0.3% v/v

60
0.30% 0.10% Water
58
56
Entropy generation, M/K

54
52
50
48
46
44
42
40
0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5
Flow rate, kg/min

Fig. 11. Entropy generation with respect to mass ow rate and volume fraction. Fig. 14. Output temperature with respect to mass ow rates and volume fraction.
3924 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926

Overall Energetic (1st Law) Efficiency (%) 6.2.7. Effect of Al2O3 nanouid on output temperature
Overall exergetic (2nd Law ) Efficiency (%) The effects of mass ow rate and volume fraction on the output
23 temperatures of nanouids operated solar collector compared to
Overall energetic (1st Law) Efficiency (%)

Overall exergetic (2nd Law ) Efficiency (%)

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
8.45 9.45 10.45
Fig. 15. Variation of overall energetic and exergetic efciencies over time.
showed the least exergy destruction of 1432.37 W, followed by
1709.4 W for 0.1% v/v of nanouid and 1855.7 W for water. It has
also been observed that with the rising mass ow rate of nano-
uids, the efciency of the solar collector also improves. Whereas,
with rising mass ow rate the temperature difference decreases.
This can be due to the reason that with lower mass ow rate
nanouid has more time to absorb solar radiations and gain more
heat.
6.2.6. Second law/exergy based efciency of Al2O3 nanouid as
working uid
Fig. 13 displays the behavior of the exergy efciency as a func-
tion of the nanoparticles volume fraction and mass ow rate of the
uid. Exergy efciency was calculated using Eq. (23) and input
Tables 1 and 2
Based on Bejan's work (Bejan et al., 1981; Bejan 1996b, 1996c),
this analysis is carried out. The study is, however, used for at plate
collectors as entropy generation minimization is vital to high
temperature systems. Maximization of the power output is the
same as the minimization of the entropy generation rate. It is
witnessed that the exergy efciency, reduces with the growing % v/
v as well as with the growing mass ow rate. Al2O3eH2O nanouid
shows higher values of efciency compared to water base uid. By
using Al2O3eH2O nanouid in a solar collector as a working me-
dium, exergy efciency can be enhanced. Al2O3eH2O can be a good
option as an absorbing medium because its exergy efciency is
higher compared to water. Experimental results also reveal that by
suspending small amount of nanoparticles up to 0.1%, the exergy
efciency could be enhanced by 20.3% compared the conventional
uid.
water as a working uid are shown in Fig. 14.
21 As known the output temperature is one of the most effective
parameters that affects the energy efciency of a at plate solar
19
collector directly. It dramatically increased with rising output
17 temperature. Solar collectors, operated with nanouids, provide
higher efciency due to the higher output temperatures. The spe-
15 cic reason for higher output temperature is, the more nano-
13 particles in the base uid. As we know, specic heat is dened as,
The heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a
11 substance by one unit of temperature. It is clear from the denition
that any substance, which has a lower specic heat, should provide
9
11.45 12.45 13.45 14.45 15.45
higher temperature for equal heat ow.
Operating Time
6.2.8. Effect of overall rst and second law efciencies of Al2O3
nanouid
The overall First and Second Law efciencies with respect to
time is presented in Fig. 15. Using Eqs. (7) and (23), input data from
Tables 1 and 2 and solar radiation from Fig. 6, rst law and second
law based thermal efciencies has been estimated and presented in
Fig. 15.
Improved energetic and exergetic efciencies are witnessed for
the studied nanouids. From Figs. 6 and 15, it was noticed that the
maximum irreversibility occurs at noon, when solar radiation was
maximized; it decreased as solar radiation decreased. The tem-
perature difference between the collector and the ambient has an
ideal point for exergy efciency, and a larger difference could result
in lower exergy efciency. However, an increase in the temperature
difference decreases the energy efciency due to the possibility of
more heat losses to ambient. According to the results from the
experiments, Al2O3eH2O nanouid is found to be more appropriate
as a working medium for at plate solar water heater than water.
7. Conclusions
An experimental study was carried out to assess the energetic
and exergetic efciencies and the effect of pH control on
Al2O3eH2O nanouid as a working medium in a at plate solar
water heater. The effect of mass ow rate, nanoparticles volume
fraction, and the effect of pH on the energy and exergy efciency of
the collector is examined. The obtained stability of nanouid was
more than a month. The thermal conductivity improvement, ob-
tained by KD2 Pro, is directly proportional to the % v/v and surges
up to 6.8% with 0.3% v/v of Al2O3. The results obtained, showed that,
in contrast with water as the working medium, nanouids increase
the rst law efciency by 83.5% for 0.3% v/v and 1.5 kg/min,
whereas the second law efciency was enhanced by up to 20.3% for

Table 4
Experimental data of the solar water heating system with and without nanouids.

Local time (h) Volume concentration Solar radiation Water temperature (
C) Mass ow Ambient temperature Wind velocity
(% v/v) (W/m2) rate (kg/min) (
C) (m/s)
Inlet Outlet

12:30 Water 0.1% of Al2O3 839.9 50.1 67.1 0.5 32.9 2.95
13:00 898.1 51.6 72.5 0.5 34.7 2.45
13:30 981.2 53.4 74.1 0.5 33.8 3.22
14:30 890.5 53.1 69.6 0.5 35.5 3.18
12:50 981.1 51.8 65.9 1.5 36.2 2.66
13:30 1066.0 52.5 66.7 1.5 36.4 2.75
14:00 1200.0 53.7 70.2 1.5 38.0 3.25
12:30 Water only 839.9 47.3 52.3 1.0 34.5 3.00
13:00 898.1 45.3 54.6 1.0 35.9 3.25
13:30 890.5 48.5 54.6 1.0 36.8 3.38
 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926
0.1% v/v and 1 kg/min. Increasing volume ow rate can increase the
efciency of the system but the exergy efciency will decrease. The
collector efciency is directly proportional to the nanoparticle
concentration. It has been also observed that as the mass ow rate
of the nanouids is increased, the efciency of the solar collector
also improved. Whereas, with an increase in the mass ow rate the
temperature difference decreases. According to the results from the
experiments, Al2O3eH2O nanouid is found to be more suitable as a
working medium for at plate solar water heater than water.
To our knowledge, this is the rst study, which is executed on
the energetic and exergetic efciency analysis of a at plate solar
collector using controlled pH for Al2O3eH2O, both theoretically and
experimentally. Accordingly, given the changing functioning and
atmospheric conditions that can occur in practice, the probability of
obtaining different results must be taken into account, in order to
ascertain the effect of the altered variables on the collector ef-
ciency and the characteristic parameters of the solar collector.
8. Future recommendations
For both scientic investigation and systems, stability of nano-
uids suspension is an important challenge. Supplementary
emphasis should be given to the long term stability of nanouids.
Additionally, the stability of nanouids in the practical conditions,
should be given much more attention. Further research is needed
for thermal operations at higher temperatures, which would
tremendously benecial for high-temperature solar energy ab-
sorption and high-temperature energy storage.
Therefore, there is a possibility for development in harvesting
the solar energy. It is recommended that the higher efciency of the
collector can be achieved by reducing the losses and preventing the
settling of the nanoparticles. The size, form and % v/v of the
nanoparticles in the nanouids directly inuence the collector ef-
ciency. More progress in the nanouids properties and their
appropriate use in the solar energy harvesting will result in further
research in this eld.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by UM High Impact Research Grant
UM-MoE UM.C/HIR/MoE/ENG/40 from the Ministry of Education,
Malaysia.
References
Al-Madani, H., 2006. The performance of a cylindrical solar water heater. Renew.
Energy 31 (11), 1751e1763.
Amini, S., Remmerswaal, J., Castro, M., Reuter, M., 2007. Quantifying the quality loss
and resource efciency of recycling by means of exergy analysis. J. Clean. Prod.
15 (10), 907e913.
Bejan, A., 1988. Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics. Wiley Inter-sciences, New
York.
Bejan, A., 1996a. Entropy Generation Minimization: the Method of Thermodynamic
Optimization of Finite-size Systems and Finite-time Processes. CRC Press.
Bejan, A., 1996b. Entropy generation minimization: the new thermodynamics of
nite-size devices and nite-time processes. J. Appl. Phys. 79 (3), 1191e1218.
Bejan, A., 1996c. Method of entropy generation minimization, or modeling and
optimization based on combined heat transfer and thermodynamics. Rev.
 ne
ge rale Therm. 35 (418), 637e646.
Bejan, A., Kearney, D., Kreith, F., 1981. Second law analysis and synthesis of solar
collector systems. J. Sol. Energy Eng. 103 (1), 23e28.
Bejan, A., Kraus, A.D., 2003. Heat Transfer Handbook. John Wiley & Sons.
Bobbo, S., Fedele, L., Benetti, A., Colla, L., Fabrizio, M., Pagura, C., Barison, S., 2012.
Viscosity of water based SWCNH and TiO2 nanouids. Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci. 36,
65e71.
Buschmann, M.H., 2013. Nanouids in thermosyphons and heat pipes: overview of
recent experiments and modelling approaches. Int. J. Therm. Sci. 72, 1e17.
Ceylan, I., 2012. Energy and exergy analyses of a temperature controlled solar water
heater. Energy Build. 47 (0), 630e635.
3925
Chen, B.-R., Chang, Y.-W., Lee, W.-S., Chen, S.-L., 2009. Long-term thermal perfor-
mance of a two-phase thermosyphon solar water heater. Sol. Energy 83 (7),
1048e1055.
Choi, S.U., Eastman, J., 1995. Enhancing Thermal Conductivity of Fluids with
Nanoparticles. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States).
Chon, C., Kihm, K., 2005. Thermal conductivity enhancement of nanouids by
Brownian motion. J. Heat. Transf. 127 (8), 810e810.
Das, S.K., Putra, N., Thiesen, P., Roetzel, W., 2003. Temperature dependence of
thermal conductivity enhancement for nanouids. J. Heat. Transf. 125 (4),
567e574.
Esen, H., 2008. Experimental energy and exergy analysis of double-ow solar air
heater having different obstacles on absorber plates. Build. Environ. 43 (6),
1046e1054.
Esen, H., Ozgen, F., Esen, M., Sengur, A., 2009. Modelling of a new solar air heater
through least-squares support vector machines. Expert Syst. Appl. 36 (7),
10673e10682.
Farahat, S., Sarhaddi, F., Ajam, H., 2009. Exergetic optimization of at plate solar
collectors. Renew. Energy 34 (4), 1169e1174.
Fong, K., Lee, C.K., Chow, T.T., 2012. Comparative study of solar cooling systems with
building-integrated solar collectors for use in sub-tropical regions like Hong
Kong. Appl. Energy 90 (1), 189e195.
Grimm, A., 1993. Powdered aluminum-containing heat transfer uids. German
patent DE 4131516: A1.
Gupta, K.K.D., Saha, S.K., 1990. Energy analysis of solar thermal collectors. Renew.
Energy Environ. 283e287.
Haddad, Z., Abid, C., Oztop, H.F., Mataoui, A., 2014. A review on how the researchers
prepare their nanouids. Int. J. Therm. Sci. 76, 168e189.
Huang, J., Wang, X., Long, Q., Wen, X., Zhou, Y., Li, L., 2009. Inuence of pH on the
stability characteristics of nanouids. In: Photonics and Optoelectronics, 2009.
SOPO 2009. Symposium on, IEEE.
Joshi, S., Bokil, R., Nayak, J., 2005. Test standards for thermosyphon-type solar do-
mestic hot water system: review and experimental evaluation. Sol. Energy 78
(6), 781e798.
Kalogirou, S.A., 2004. Solar thermal collectors and applications. Prog. Energy
Combust. Sci. 30 (3), 231e295.
Koroneos, C., Tsarouhis, M., 2012. Exergy analysis and life cycle assessment of solar
heating and cooling systems in the building environment. J. Clean. Prod. 32,
52e60.
Kotas, T.J., 1995. The Exergy Method of Thermal Plant Analysis. Krieger Publish
Company, Malabar, FL.
Kreuzer, H.J., 1981. Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics and its Statistical Foundations.
Clarendon Press, Oxford and New York, 455 p. 1.
Lee, D.W., Sharma, A., 2007. Thermal performances of the active and passive water
heating systems based on annual operation. Sol. Energy 81 (2), 207e215.
Li, C.H., Peterson, G., 2006. Experimental investigation of temperature and volume
fraction variations on the effective thermal conductivity of nanoparticle sus-
pensions (nanouids). J. Appl. Phys. 99 (8), 084314.
Luminosu, I., Fara, L., 2005. Determination of the optimal operation mode of a at
solar collector by exergetic analysis and numerical simulation. Energy 30 (5),
731e747.
Mahian, O., Kianifar, A., Kalogirou, S.A., Pop, I., Wongwises, S., 2013. A review of the
applications of nanouids in solar energy. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 57 (2),
582e594.
Min, Y., Akbulut, M., Kristiansen, K., Golan, Y., Israelachvili, J., 2008. The role of
interparticle and external forces in nanoparticle assembly. Nat. Mater. 7 (7),
527e538.
Mintsa, H.A., Roy, G., Nguyen, C.T., Doucet, D., 2009. New temperature dependent
thermal conductivity data for water-based nanouids. Int. J. Therm. Sci. 48 (2),
363e371.
Natarajan, E., Sathish, R., 2009. Role of nanouids in solar water heater. Int. J. Adv.
Manuf. Tech. 1e5.
Onsager, L., 1931a. Reciprocal relations in irreversible processes. I. Phys. Rev. 37 (4),
405.
Onsager, L., 1931b. Reciprocal relations in irreversible processes. II. Phys. Rev. 38
(12), 2265.
Otanicar, T.P., Phelan, P.E., Prasher, R.S., Rosengarten, G., Taylor, R.A., 2010. Nano-
uid-based direct absorption solar collector. J. Renew. Sust. Energy 2 (3).
Ozalp, N., Epstein, M., Kogan, A., 2010. Cleaner pathways of hydrogen, carbon nano-
materials and metals production via solar thermal processing. J. Clean. Prod. 18
(9), 900e907.
Park, S., Pandey, A., Tyagi, V., Tyagi, S., 2014. Energy and exergy analysis of typical
renewable energy systems. Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 30, 105e123.
Prasher, R., Bhattacharya, P., Phelan, P.E., 2005. Thermal conductivity of nanoscale
colloidal solutions (nanouids). Phy. Rev. Lett. 94 (2), 025901.
Rojas, D., Beermann, J., Klein, S., Reindl, D., 2008. Thermal performance testing of
at-plate collectors. Sol. Energy 82 (8), 746e757.
Roonprasang, N., Namprakai, P., Pratinthong, N., 2008. Experimental studies of a
new solar water heater system using a solar water pump. Energy 33 (4),
639e646.
Rosen, M.A., 2008. Allocating carbon dioxide emissions from cogeneration systems:
descriptions of selected output-based methods. J. Clean. Prod. 16 (2), 171e177.
Said, Z., Kamyar, A., Saidur, R., 2013a. Experimental investigation on the stability
and density of TiO2, Al2O3, SiO2 and TiSiO4. In: IOP Conference Series: Earth and
Environmental Science. IOP Publishing.
3926 Z. Said et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2016) 3915e3926
Said, Z., Sajid, M., Alim, M., Saidur, R., Rahim, N., 2013b. Experimental investigation
of the thermophysical properties of Al2O3-nanouid and its effect on a at plate
solar collector. Int. Commun. Heat. Mass Transf. 48, 99e107.
Said, Z., Sabiha, M., Saidur, R., Hepbasli, A., Rahim, N., Mekhilef, S., Ward, T., 2015.
Performance enhancement of a at plate solar collector using TiO2 nanouid
and polyethylene glycol dispersant. J. Clean. Prod.
Sajid, M., Said, Z., Saidur, R., Adikan, F., Sabri, M., Rahim, N., 2014. A time variant
investigation on optical properties of water based Al2O3 nanouid. Int. Com-
mun. Heat. Mass Transf. 50, 108e116.
Sridhara, V., Satapathy, L.N., 2011. Al2O3 based nanouids: a review. Nanoscale Res.
Lett. 6 (1), 1e16.
Sutthivirode, K., Namprakai, P., Roonprasang, N., 2009. A new version of a solar
water heating system coupled with a solar water pump. Appl. Energy 86 (9),
1423e1430.
Suzuki, A., 1988. General theory of exergy balance analysis and application to solar
collectors. Energy 13 (2), 153e160.
Tian, Y., Zhao, C.-Y., 2013. A review of solar collectors and thermal energy storage in
solar thermal applications. Appl. Energy 104, 538e553.
Tiwari, A.K., Ghosh, P., Sarkar, J., 2013. Solar water heating using nanouids-a
comprehensive overview and environmental impact analysis. Int. J. Emerg.
Technol. Adv. Eng. 3 (3), 221e224.
Vatanpour, V., Madaeni, S.S., Moradian, R., Zinadini, S., Astinchap, B., 2011. Fabri-
cation and characterization of novel antifouling nanoltration membrane
prepared from oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotube/polyethersulfone nano-
composite. J. Membr. Sci. 375 (1), 284e294.
Wei, X., Zhu, H., Kong, T., Wang, L., 2009. Synthesis and thermal conductivity of
Cu2O nanouids. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 52 (19), 4371e4374.
Xie, H., Fujii, M., Zhang, X., 2005. Effect of interfacial nanolayer on the effective
thermal conductivity of nanoparticle-uid mixture. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 48
(14), 2926e2932.
Youse, T., Shojaeizadeh, E., Veysi, F., Zinadini, S., 2012a. An experimental investi-
gation on the effect of pH variation of MWCNTe H2O nanouid on the efciency
of a at-plate solar collector. Sol. Energy 86 (2), 771e779.
Youse, T., Veysi, F., Shojaeizadeh, E., Zinadini, S., 2012b. An experimental investi-
gation on the effect of Al2O3eH2O nanouid on the efciency of at-plate solar
collectors. Renew. Energy 39 (1), 293e298.
Yu, W., Choi, S., 2003. The role of interfacial layers in the enhanced thermal con-
ductivity of nanouids: a renovated Maxwell model. J. Nanopart. Res. 5 (1e2),
167e171.
Yu, W., Xie, H., 2012. A review on nanouids: preparation, stability mechanisms,
and applications. J. Nanomater. 2012, 1.
Zambrana-Vasquez, D., Aranda-Uso n, A., Zabalza-Bribia n, I., Jan
~ ez, A., Llera-
Sastresa, E., Hernandez, P., Arrizabalaga, E., 2015. Environmental assessment of
domestic solar hot water systems: a case study in residential and hotel build-
ings. J. Clean. Prod. 88, 29e42.