Producción de ACS mediante colectores solares basados en materiales reciclables

Abstract

In recent years, the global population and the human development have been growing exponentially. Consequently, there has been a significant increase in worldwide energy consumption. Simultaneously, the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel usage intensifies global warming, leading to increasingly evident and irreversible consequences worldwide. This has prompted the implementation of various strategies for mitigating, sustaining, and increasing energy efficiency to stop or, at least, delay the effects of climate change. The objective of this project was to study the generation of sanitary hot water (SHW) using a solar collector made from recyclable materials, such as bottles, cans, and tetra packs. The approach and motivation for this work were based on the sustainability implications of such projects, where economic, social, and environmental benefits can be equally obtained. Comparing the recycled collector with a flat plate and a vacuum tube solar collector, all three of them exhibited similar behaviors. However, the efficiency and volume of hot water obtained by the recycled collector were considerably lower than the other two. The low performance of the recycled collector can be attributed to significant thermal losses due to poor hermeticity between plastic bottles, inefficient insulation of pipes or absorbers, as well as inadequate system sizing. Nevertheless, the recycled collector was still able to produce 15 liters of hot water at 50°C on the coldest days of the year, and almost 60 liters on autumn days when the ambient temperature reaches 14°C. Additionally, the results of the eco-audit reflect the negative impact on the environment of constructing these industrial solar collectors. This impact depends significantly on the manufacturing and installation countries, prevailing legislations, and the collective and individual responsibility of all agents involved in the collector's lifecycle. Considering the global shift towards renewable energy systems for all countries worldwide, the manufacturing of solar collectors, especially the energy consumption and carbon footprint involved, should not be disregarded during this energy transition. In conclusion, although the performance of the recycled solar collector may not compete with current market collectors, it remains a product that, from waste, generates SHW at very low monetary and almost negligible energy costs, improving people's quality of life, benefiting families' economies, and protecting the environment. In other words, it is sustainable