Abstracts for Advances in Solar Energy
D.Y. Goswami, Editor
July 2008
V.V. Belessiotis
“Solar Drying”
SOLAR DRYING
V. Belessiotis* and E. Delyannis
Laboratory of Solar and other Energy Systems, NSRC "DEMOKRITOS",
Aghia Paraskevi, Greece
Übrigens ist jede Methode bestreitbar und keine allgemeingültig (“In drying any approach is
uncertain and no one is totally valid.”) Jacob Burrckhardt (1994)
ABSTRACT
Solar radiation use for drying is one of the oldest applications of solar energy. It was used
since the dawn of mankind mainly for food preservation but also for drying other useful
materials as cloths, construction materials etc. The first installation for drying by solar energy
was found in South France and is dated at about 8000 BC. Solar heat was the only available
energy source to mankind until the discovery and use of wood and biomass. Until to day in
remote small communities, not only in the so-called third world regions, but also in the
western countries, people take advantage of solar radiation to dry and preserve small
amounts of food for family utilization or for commercial use.
Solar drying has not yet commercialized. Solar dryers are equipment, generally of small
capacity and based rather on empirical and semi-empirical data than in theoretical designs.
The majority of the numerous solar dryer designs, which are available, are used mainly for
drying of various crops either for family use or for small- scale industrial production.
In this chapter on "Solar Drying" various direct (sun) and indirect (solar) drying applications
and some of the numerous solar dryers are described. A very short historical description of
solar drying through the centuries is also given. Some drying phenomena, independently of
the type of energy used, and the general laws that govern drying methods by convection are
also given in order for the reader to easily follow the details of the solar drying procedure.
The solar collectors used in drying and the methods of coupling to the various solar dryers are
shortly described as an indirect solar energy source. At the end an example of drying of
sultana grapes by indirect solar radiation is given as well.
* Corresponding author
Keywords: Mollier diagram, economics of solar dryers, agricultural crops preservation, hot
box chamber, greenhouse dryer analysis, semi-cylindrical plastic dryer, forced convection
dryers, active dryers, drying period
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Abstracts for Advances in Solar Energy
D.Y. Goswami, Editor
July 2008
M. Fthenakis
“Photovoltaics Life Cycle Analysis”
PHOTOVOLTAICS: LIFE CYCLE ANALYSES
V. M. Fthenakis* and H.C. Kim
Center of Life Cycle Analysis, Columbia University
and, National Photovoltaic Environmental Research Center
Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York, USA
ABSTRACT
Life cycle analysis is an invaluable tool for investigating the environmental profile of a
product or technology from cradle to grave. Such life-cycle analyses of energy technologies
are essential, especially as material and energy flows are often interwoven, and divergent
emissions into the environment may occur at different life-stages. This approach is well
exemplified by our description of material and energy flows in four commercial PV
technologies, i.e., mono-crystalline silicon, multi-crystalline-silicon, ribbon-silicon, and
cadmium telluride. The same life cycle approach is applied to the balance of system that
supports flat, fixed PV modules during operation.
We also discuss the life cycle
environmental metrics for a concentration PV system with a tracker and lenses to capture
more sunlight per cell area than the flat, fixed system but require large auxiliary
components. Select life cycle risk indicators for PV, i.e. fatalities, injuries, and maximum
consequence are evaluated in a comparative context with other electricity generation
pathways.
* Corresponding author
Keywords: photovoltaics, life cycle analysis, life cycle assessment, environmental and health
effects, energy payback times
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Abstracts for Advances in Solar Energy
D.Y. Goswami, Editor
July 2008
Baruch Givoni
“Passive Cooling”
INDOOR TEMPERATURE REDUCTION BY PASSIVE COOLING SYSTEMS
Baruch Givoni
University of California at Los Angeles, California, USA
and,
Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel
ABSTRACT
This chapter will present experimental data from studies in test cells, and from monitoring
indoor temperatures in un-occupied and in occupied buildings, when data was available,
regardless of the dates of the research, not just recent research. In many cases where
sufficiently measured data of the outdoor and the indoor temperatures was available, formulas
have been generated, expressing the indoor temperatures of the building or the test model as a
function of the outdoor temperatures. All the formulas represent the experimental data and
conditions of the various studies. They are not intended to be used for general prediction of
the performance of the tested passive cooling system.
Keywords: passive cooling, ventilative cooling, radiant cooling, direct evaporative cooling,
indirect ventilative cooling, soil cooling.
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Abstracts for Advances in Solar Energy
D.Y. Goswami, Editor
July 2008
Brian Norton “Enhancing the Performance of Building Integrated Photovoltaics”
ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS
Brian Norton a*, Philip C Eames b, Tapas K Mallick c, Ming Jun Huang d, Sarah J McCormack
Jayanta D Mondol e, and Yohanis G. Yohanis f
a
a Dublin Energy Laboratory, Focas Institute, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin,
Ireland
b Warwick Institute for Sustainable Energy and Resources, School of Engineering,
University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
c Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Physics Sciences,
Herriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
d Camborne School of Mines, School of Geography, Archaeology and Earth Resources,
University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
e Centre for Sustainable Technologies, School of the Built Environment, University of
Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland
f Thermal Systems Engineering Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ulster,
Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland
ABSTRACT
Recent research in Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is reviewed with the emphases on
a range of key systems whose improvement would be likely to lead to improved solar energy
conversion efficiency and/or economic viability. These include invertors, concentrators and
thermal management systems. Advances in techniques for specific aspects of systems design,
installation and operation are also discussed.
* Corresponding author
Keywords: Photovoltaics, buildings, solar concentration, inverters, thermal management,
array sizing, BIPV design, cladding.
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Abstracts for Advances in Solar Energy
D.Y. Goswami, Editor
July 2008
Shozo Yanagida
“Strategy to Improve the Performance of Dye-sensitized
Solar Cells: Interface Engineering Principle”
Strategy to Improve the Performance of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells: Interface Engineering
Principle
Jiangbin Xia and Shozo Yanagida*
Center for Advanced Science and Innovation, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
ABSTRACT
As next generation solar cells, dye sensitized TiO2 solar cells attract many scientists’
attention throughout the world. Although currently there are no commercially available
products on the market, construction of large modules and long-term stability tests have been
carried out by many companies and laboratories worldwide; commercialized DSC products
may be appearing in the near future. Improving DSC performance and long-term stability is a
great challenge not only to the academic research but also for industrial applications. Here
the interface molecular engineering principle is proposed as the main strategy to meet this
challenge in view of recent progress in this domain.
* Corresponding author
Key words: Dye-sensitized TiO2, PEDOT hole conductor, Hybrid ruthenium dye, Nb2O5 blocking
layer, Photo-electro-polymerization, π-stacking self-organization on interfaces
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Abstracts for Advances in Solar Energy
D.Y. Goswami, Editor
July 2008
For the Next Issue –Margaret Bailey, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, USA
“Exploring Thermoelectricity for Military, Building, and Automotive Applications”
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