System design and trial of combined photovoltaics and membrane distillation
Author
Term
4. Term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-06-09
Pages
52
Abstract
A combined process of photovoltaics and membrane distillation was tested in a controlled environment to investigate cooling effect on open circuit voltage of a small solarpanel, a parameter directly correlated to power output in normal temperature ranges. It was consistently shown that the combined system successfully utilized waste heat energy to power the membrane distillation, but power output was reduced in some experiments. Furthermore, the lack of a mechanism of heat transfer from the combined module, lead to a further build-up of heat, lowering flux compared to expectation. A flow cooling system was also tested, wherein salted water would pass behind the panel and slowly drip to a beaker at different flow rates. It was found that high flow rate had a positive impact on temperature.
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