The science of the total environment

Solar Engineering Of Thermal Processes

Solar and Terrestrial Radiation

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) offers an efficient and easily implemented technology for future energy supply. Compared to conventional silicon solar cells, it provides comparable power conversion efficiency (PCE) at low material and manufacturing costs. DSSC materials such as titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) are inexpensive, abundant and innocuous to the environment. Since DSSC materials are less prone to contamination and processable at ambient temperature, a roll-to-roll process could be utilized to print DSSCs on the mass production line. DSSCs perform better under lower light intensities, which makes them an excellent choice for indoor applications. Due to the advancement of molecular engineering, colored and transparent thin films have been introduced to enhance the aesthetic values. Up to now, such benefits have attracted considerable research interests and commercialization effort. Here, this review examines advanced techniques and research trends of this promising technology from the perspective of device modeling, state-of-art techniques, and novel device structures.

Review on dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs): Advanced techniques and research trends

Several simplified design procedures for solar energy systems require monthly average meteorological data. Monthly average daily totals of the solar radiation incident on a horizontal surface are available. However, radiation data on tilted surfaces, required by the design procedures, are generally not available. A simple method of estimating the average daily radiation for each calendar month on surfaces facing directly towards the equator has been presented by Liu and Jordan [1]. This method is verified with experimental measurements and extended to allow calculation of monthly average radiation on surfaces of a wide range of orientations.

Calculation of monthly average insolation on tilted surfaces

The noticeable rise in the electricity demand, fast depletion of fossil fuels, along with environmental concerns throughout the world has led to the requirement of commissioning Solar PV plants in large scale. Solar photovoltaic (PV) installation has the burden of intense land requirements which will always be a premium commodity. To conserve the valuable land & water, installing Solar PV system on water bodies like oceans, lakes, lagoons, reservoir, irrigation ponds, waste water treatment plants, wineries, fish farms, dams and canals can be an attractive option. Floating type solar photovoltaic panels have numerous advantages compared to overland installed solar panels, including fewer obstacles to block sunlight, convenient, energy efficiency, higher power generation efficiency owing to its lower temperature underneath the panels. Additionally, the aquatic environment profits by the solar installation because the shading of the plant prevents excessive water evaporation, limits algae growth and potentially improving water quality. This paper gives more insight about the Floating PV technology, its present status & various design options.

Floating photovoltaic power plant: A review

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/187830/1/1-s2.0-S2352484715000311-main.pdf

Performance evaluation of 10 MW grid connected solar photovoltaic power plant in India

Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) is considered to be one of the most promising technological developments in the field of Solar Cells. It is basically a cell that imitates the process seen in plant cells to produce energy. It is a photo-electrochemical cell, considering the electron moments caused by the combined effect of the photon energy and the chemical reactions. The DSSC being transparent to some extent and comparatively cheaper than conventional solar photo-voltaic, can be a potential energy source for the future. But there are many aspects that need to be worked upon before declaring it as a feasible commercial product. The paper emphasizes on these aspects and the various improvements that the DSSC has gone through in recent years. This is a detailed review of the work done to improve the performance of DSSC, with supporting data. A comparative study of the effect of various suggested modification to the different components of DSSC has been done. This would give a clear idea about the most recent improvements done in DSSC with respect to the various components. It includes a summary of the suggested improvements by various researchers, bifurcated into different sections with respect to the different components of the DSSC. It was observed that incorporating graphene sheets of various sizes in the photo anode helped to improve the efficiency of DSSC significantly, giving a maximum efficiency of 6.62%. In case of novel dyes used in the DSSC fabrication the D-A-pi-A indoline dyes showed a great enhancement in the cell efficiency, with efficiency of up to 6.9%. Incorporation of Pt in counter electrodes and 3D-CE also showed notably good efficiency in DSSC, the efficiency improving up to 8.8%.

Recent improvements in dye sensitized solar cells: A review

Background Spirulina is multicellular and filamentous cyanobacteria that have achieved a considerable popularity in the health sector, food industry and aquacultures. It develops and grows in water, can be harvested and processed easily. It has very high content of macro and micronutrients, essential amino acids, proteins, lipids, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Spirulina is considered as a complete food supplement to fight against malnutritional deficiencies in developing countries. Spirulina is deemed safe for human consumption as evident by its long history of food use and latest scientific findings. In recent years, Spirulina has gathered enormous attention from research fraternity as well as industries as a flourishing source of nutraceutical and pharmaceuticals. Scope and approach The primary objective of this paper is to review the utilization of Spirulina as a dietary supplement in the food industry. In the present work, the three main area of Spirulina research: growth, harvesting and potential application are presented. Key findings and conclusion The important growth parameters have been studied to enhance Spirulina biomass productivity qualitatively and quantitatively. This review provides useful information on commercially viable technology for Spirulina cultivation. Mass cultivation and Innovative formulations are further needed to fortify conventional foods with Spirulina based protein system.

K. Sudhakar

Papers

Floating photovoltaic power plant: A review

Performance evaluation of 10 MW grid connected solar photovoltaic power plant in India

Recent improvements in dye sensitized solar cells: A review

Spirulina - From growth to nutritional product: A review

Recent advancement in BIPV product technologies: A review