Abstract
Non-conventional energy is one of the clean energy resources. In this, solar energy is plentiful and contains high exergy among non-conventional energy sources. Thermal energy storage is a method of storing thermal energy by heating a storage material that may subsequently be used for heating or power generating. This study focused on the development of solar ponds for effective solar energy storage. The study depicts the heat fluctuation in a solar pond with phase change material and Nanomaterial. Paraffin wax was used as a phase change material and the performance has been investigated and compared with the addition of nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and silver-titanium oxide. The experiment was conducted out on the solar pond without and with phase change material, as well as with carbon nanotubes and silver-titanium oxide inclusion. The experimental results exhibit that the phase change material used to store the majority of solar energy, the temperature difference measured at night for the solar pond with nanoparticle-infused phase change material was minimal. The energy storage capacity of the solar pond increases by 7.8%, 21.8%, and 25% when it is coupled with paraffin wax, silver-titanium oxide/paraffin wax, and carbon nanotubes/paraffin wax. The average temperature variation of the solar pond was observed on the weekly basis by 3°C, 5°C, and 7.5°C when it is coupled with paraffin wax, silver-titanium oxide/paraffin wax, and carbon nanotubes /paraffin wax respectively. It is concluded that compared to simple phase change material, the silver-titanium oxide, and carbon nanotubes have better performance in the storage of thermal energy.
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