Solar Thermal Treatment: Case Study for Cashew Juice Pasteurization
Serigne Thiao,
Omar Drame,
Joseph Sambasene Diatta,
Awa Mar,
Diouma Kobor
Issue:
Volume 12, Issue 1, January 2023
Pages:
1-8
Received:
1 December 2022
Accepted:
28 December 2022
Published:
10 January 2023
Abstract: Energy and food are very intertwined and important in human life. Cashew juice is a very abundant product in southern Senegal. Unfortunately, due to lack of processing and conservation, this product cannot last 24 hours without being fermented. The aim of this study is to study the heat treatment processes of agri-food products, particularly the pasteurization of cashew fruit juices. Pasteurization often uses heat from fossil fuels. In this heat treatment process of cashew juice, we are interested in the energy source. Thus thermal solar energy is used in this heat treatment. A solar thermal collector with an area of 17.9 m2 and a hot water storage tank with a capacity of 0.1 m3 are used. With the pasteurization model used, the juice circulates in a copper coil immersed in hot water coming from the solar thermal field or the hot water storage tank. A numerical simulation program has been developed on Ansys Fluent 2020 R1 to study the evolution of the temperature of the juice from the inlet to the outlet of the coil. The results obtained give outlet temperatures varying from 70 to 80°C depending on the speed of circulation of the juice. We can also achieve outlet temperatures of 100°C. This means that our system can operate in sterilizer mode.
Abstract: Energy and food are very intertwined and important in human life. Cashew juice is a very abundant product in southern Senegal. Unfortunately, due to lack of processing and conservation, this product cannot last 24 hours without being fermented. The aim of this study is to study the heat treatment processes of agri-food products, particularly the pa...
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Ideal Solar Cell Electrical Parameters and Ideality Factor Effect on the Efficiency
El Hadji Mamadou Keita,
Fallou Mbaye,
Abdoul Aziz Correa,
Mamadou Dia,
Cheikh Sene,
Babacar Mbow
Issue:
Volume 12, Issue 1, January 2023
Pages:
9-21
Received:
9 December 2022
Accepted:
14 February 2023
Published:
28 March 2023
Abstract: The determination of the electrical conversion efficiency (ηC) is particularly important to evaluate the performance of a solar cell. For the evaluation of the efficiency by considering the ideal solar cell characterized by an absence of parasitic resistances and using the characteristic equation which corresponds to the equivalent electrical diagram, we determine the electrical parameters such as: the saturation current density (J0), the short-circuit current density (Jsc), the open-circuit voltage (Voc), the maximum power density point (Jm, Vm) and the fill factor (FF). The saturation current density is determined using fundamental semiconductor notions. The effect of the ideality factor on the electrical efficiency and the various parameters is also highlited. The results are applied to heterostructures based on CuInS2 and CuInSe2. The performance of the cell increases with a raising of the ideality factor (η) for the ideal solar cell model. By varying the ideality factor from 1 to 3, the calculated efficiency varies theoretically from 8.4% to 25.3% under AM1.5 solar spectrum for the structure based on CdS(n)/CuInS2(p) named model (b) with a photocurrent density evaluated at 17 mA.cm-2 by numerical calculation method. The efficiency varies from 6.8% to 20.45% for the structure based on CdS(n)/CuInSe2(p) named model (a) with a photocurrent density evaluated at 31 mA.cm-2 for the same used parameters. The open-circuit voltage varies from 0.5 V to 1.5 V for model (b) and from 0.27 V to 0.8 V for model (a). The results obtained (efficiency and electrical parameters) for each model remain within the range of experimental values published in the literature for solar cells based on chalcopyrite materials such as CIGS (CuInxGa1-xSe2 or CuInxGa1-x(SySe1-y)2), and thus allowing to validate the different methods established to model the studied phenomena.
Abstract: The determination of the electrical conversion efficiency (ηC) is particularly important to evaluate the performance of a solar cell. For the evaluation of the efficiency by considering the ideal solar cell characterized by an absence of parasitic resistances and using the characteristic equation which corresponds to the equivalent electrical diagr...
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