A Vegetable Oil as Heat Transfer Fluid for Parabolic Trough Collector: Dynamic Performance Analysis under Ouagadougou Climate Conditions

Abstract

In this study, the thermal performance of the parabolic trough collector (PTC) has been addressed under Ouagadougou climate conditions. Thus, after developing a model, the effect of mass flow on PTC performance showed that the Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) temperature difference increases when the mass flow rate (m˙) decreases while the thermal efficiency (ηth) increases. For m˙ of 1 kg s−1, a collector length of 46.8 m or collection area of 230 m2 is required to obtain an outlet temperature of 210 °C with an average ηth of 82.69%. This paper can support the decision for a demonstration plant implementation regarding JCO use in the CSP plant.

Keywords

• collector
• vegetable oil
• thermal performance