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Innovative hybrid source for electricity, cooling and desalinated water production based on a mixed fossil fuel/solar energy supply, equipped with triple-component chiller configuration, has been presented in the paper. The system was erected and recently commissioned in King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to operate as a working laboratory supplying media to adjacent buildings of the Solar Village complex. In the Arabian Gulf region, increased demand, especially for cooling and desalinated water, as well as fluctuating availability of electricity from the grid in summer period is visible, what makes such a stand-alone installation operation justified especially in remote areas. Abundant availability of intermittent solar energy correlated with cooling demand led to development of novel triple-component chiller configuration consisting of absorption, adsorption and compressor chiller. Two Diesel internal combustion engines had been selected to supply electricity and heating when solar energy is not available. Paper presents results of installation commissioning, during which the performance of the system for three different operating scenarios was assessed. Maximum efficiency was achieved for maximum renewable energy production option reaching 324.91% with renewable share at a level of 89.99%. For the maximum cooling capacity production, the efficiency of the system was 124.89% with 18.6% share of renewable energy. The lowest efficiency, of 93.09%, system obtained for the night scenario. • Novel, patented triple-component configuration of chillers has been presented. • Hybrid source for energy and desalinated water production has been commissioned. • Solar panels integration enabled maintaining cooling and distillate production. • Efficiency in max. Renewable energy scenario has reached 325% during commissioning. • Renewable energy share has reached 90% during commissioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocomposites of silica gel (SG) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) of relatively low concentrations (0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 wt%) were characterized before and after annealing. Adsorption is a surface phenomenon, and based on this, the morphology of the composites was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The produced images show that the MWCNTs were embedded into the silica gel base material. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) transmittance spectroscopy showed that MWCNTs were not functionalized within the matrix of silica gel and MWCNT composites. However, after annealing the composites at 400 °C for 4 h in air, evidence of activation was observed in the FTIR spectrum. The effects of the embedding of MWCNTs on porosity, specific surface area, and pore size distribution were studied using Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectra of the prepared composites were mainly dominated by characteristic sharp scattering peaks of the silica gel at 480, 780, and 990 cm−1 and a broad band centered at 2100 cm−1. The scattering peaks of MWCNTs were not well pronounced, as the homogeneity of the composite is always questionable. Nanosizer analysis showed that at 0.25 wt%, the distribution of MWCNTs within the silica gel was optimal. Vickers hardness measurements showed that the hardness increased with the increasing weight percent of MWCNTs within the composite matrix, while annealing enhanced the mechanical properties of the composites. Further studies are required to investigate the pore structure of silica gel within the matrix of MWCNTs to be deployed for efficient cooling and water purification applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentric tube heat exchangers are widely used as lube oil coolers in large internal combustion engines. They are particularly preferred because of simple manufacturing, lower area, and better heat transfer characteristics. With the growing use of unconventional fuel-based lubricants, their design is continuously improved to achieve the required heat transfer characteristics. One of the emerging alternative oil is Tire Pyrolysis Oil (TPO) to minimize tire waste and achieve the waste-to-energy objective. The TPO is employed not only as diesel blended fuel but also as a lube oil because of its satisfactory tribological properties. The present work provides a detailed design and analysis of a concentric-tube micro-fin-based lube oil cooler for TPO applications. The design encompasses the thermal, hydraulic, and economic characteristics of the heat exchanger subjected to TPO, Ethylene Glycol (EG), and Crude Oil (CO). To achieve this a robust numerical model is developed and implemented using engineering equation solver software. The model is validated with experimental data first. Then a detailed parametric analysis is done to investigate the heat exchanger performance. It was observed that TPO offered a better heat transfer coefficient along with lesser power input and cost compared to EG and CO. For instance, in the case of a mass flow rate 0.1 kg/s, the heat transfer per unit pressure drop is highest for TPO with 5.86 m/sK followed by CO with 5.12 m/sK and EG with 0.3876 m/sK. Similarly, the annual operational cost is calculated as 27.7 k$, 31.4 k$, and ∼ 80.8 k$ for the TPO, CO, EG which shows the superiority of TPO as lube oil for engine applications. Based on thermal, hydraulic design and economic analysis, it is concluded that tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) is used in the concentric tube micro fin heat exchanger for applications of oil cooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]