Techno-economic and environmental analysis of a hybrid PV/T solar system based on vegetable and synthetic oils coupled with TiO2 in Cameroon

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 (TiO2) 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/TiO2. The platelets-and spherical-shaped nanoparticles increase the convection transfer coefficient between the fluids and the tubes. TiO2 showed a higher thermal influence in vegetable and synthetic oils than in water at a volume concentration of 4 %. The cotton/TiO2 configuration showed a 12.08 % improvement in electrical efficiency over conventional PV systems with low exergy efficiency compared to water. Configurations with therminolVP-1/TiO2 are better, with the proposed energy cost reduced to 33 % of the price of electricity in Cameroon. The PV/T-Palm/TiO2 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.