Empirical Investigation of Small-Scale Aluminium Wool Packed Solar Air Heater Made with Waste Material

Abstract

<jats:p xml:lang="en">Waste production is an important problem for the developing world and globalization. The waste materials can be reused through recycling process and its environmental effects can be minimized. Utilizing renewable energy sources at the maximum level is also an important issue for a sustainable development in future as well as waste management. In this study, small-scale solar air heating systems were produced from waste materials to analyze the usability of waste material in renewable energy systems. Scrap metal elbows were used in the production of heaters. The first solar heater is hollow (SH) and the second one was modified by filling it with aluminum wool (SHAW). Both heaters were tested simultaneously at different flow rates (0.014, 0.010 and 0.006 kg/s). According to the experimental results, the thermal efficiency values for SH and SHAW were found in the range of 33.63-42.90% and 42.69-56.98%, respectively. In addition, it was observed that a low cost modification such as using aluminum wool can significantly increase thermal performance of the solar heating system. </jats:p>