Performance Assessment of an Ice-Production Hybrid Solar CPV/T System Combining Both Adsorption and Vapor-Compression Refrigeration Systems

Abstract

The technology of a hybrid solar concentration photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) system is an efficient way of converting solar energy to heat and electrical power, in which overall energy-extraction efficiency is at its highest. In this study, numerical dynamic simulation models were developed for a hybrid solar CPV/T system and an adsorption refrigeration system (ARS). Under the climatic conditions of Riyadh all year round, the electrical and thermal powers generated by the CPV/T system were used to estimate the ice production of both the vapor compression refrigeration system (VCS) and the ARS. The CPV/T system can provide a thermal energy of 37.6 kWh and electrical energy of 24.7 kWh a day on average over the year using a 12.5 m2 facing area of Fresnel lenses. The ARS employed an advanced approach which used Maxsorb III adsorbent packed in two aluminum foam beds. An optimum cycle time of the ARS was adapted for each month to match the variation in the thermal energy, while a variable-speed compressor was chosen for the VCS. Due to its higher coefficient of performance (COP), the proposed solar hybrid system can produce 494.4 kg of ice per day while sharing 84.5% of the VCS. The average solar COP over the year of the hybrid system can attain 0.875, which represents a promising value for a solar ice-production system.