Performance investigation of graphene oxide-based water/oil nanofluids for high pressure and high temperature solar thermal technologies for sustainable energy systems

Abstract

The first and second Working Group (WG I and II) contributions to the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have confirmed anthropogenic contribution to global climate change and issued severe lethal warnings against the ramifications of climate change. To achieve the objectives of sustainable development and combatting climate change, both economic progress and emissions control must go together. A clean, renewable, and reliable energy source is the need of the hour to decarbonize the energy sector. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology can efficiently achieve this objective by offering a reliable, continuous power supply without emitting Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). However, an effective and stable Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) is mandatory to ameliorate the CSP technology. The experimental analysis of Graphene Oxide (GO) nanofluids yielded maximum enhancement in thermal conductivity up to 39.5 %, whereas enhancement in heat capacity was 7.75 %. The zeta potential experiments exhibited values as high as 65 mV for the GO nanofluids. The simulation yielded a reduced Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of up to 12 %, and an energy enhancement of up to 3.1 % was observed. The research lays the foundation for commercial-scale solar thermal technology-based integrated systems to meet the world's energy needs reliably, sustainably, and competitively.