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Exergy, economic, and environmental study for flat plate solar collector using pulsating flow
M A Sharafeldin1, S A Marzouk2, Mohamed T Abdelghany3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at Shoubra, Benha University, Benha, Egypt.
Scientific Reports
|December 23, 2025
Summary
Pulsating flow in solar collectors significantly enhances energy production by up to 33.5% and reduces CO2 emissions. This method improves exergy efficiency and lowers entropy generation for sustainable solar energy solutions.
Area of Science:
- Renewable Energy Engineering
- Thermodynamics
- Sustainable Energy Systems
Background:
- Solar energy is crucial for global sustainability and clean energy initiatives.
- Improving solar collector performance is a key research objective.
- Pulsating flow presents a novel approach to enhance solar energy systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of pulsating flow on solar collectors.
- To conduct exergy, economic, and environmental analyses of pulsating flow in solar collectors.
- To quantify improvements in efficiency, cost, and environmental benefits.
Main Methods:
- Development of a comprehensive test system for solar collectors.
- Measurement of key parameters: pressure, flow rate, solar radiation, fluid, and ambient temperatures.
- Calculation of exergy efficiency, entropy generation, heat cost, and greenhouse gas emission savings.
Main Results:
- Highest exergy efficiency reached 9.33% at 4 Hz and 360 L/hr flow rate.
- Entropy generation decreased from 0.655 kW/k (continuous) to 0.296 kW/k (pulsating flow).
- Energy production potentially increased by 33.5%, with a reduction of 13.4 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Conclusions:
- Pulsating flow offers significant performance improvements for solar collectors.
- The study demonstrates economic viability with an energy price of $0.063/kWh.
- Energy and exergy payback periods were calculated as 4.34 and 24.17 years, respectively, highlighting long-term sustainability.
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