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Experimental investigation of dust pollutants and the impact of environmental parameters on PV performance: an experimental study

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Abstract

The accumulation of dust pollution on the photovoltaic (PV) module can have a significant effect on the productivity and efficiency of PV systems in different locations in the world. Dust which accumulated over time on the PV module and is based on weather conditions led to the reduction in the effectiveness of solar cells. The aim of this research was to experimentally investigate the effect of the natural dust and the effects of environmental parameters on PV performance. The experiments were conducted to propose a model for the current, voltage, power and efficiency and to simulate the effect of environmental parameters on PV performance. The natural dust investigated consisted of different compounds: SiO2 (45.53 %), CaO (24.62 %), Al2O3 (10.83 %), Fe2O3 (10.46 %), MgO (6.33 %), K2O (0.87 %), TiO2 (0.45 %), SO3 (0.24 %), MnO2 (0.21), Cr2O3 (0.23 %), SrO (0.13 %) and NiO (0.09 %). It was found that the most accurate correlation is a polynomial from seventh degree for current, voltage, power and efficiency, fourth degree for solar radiation and temperature, cubic degree for humidity and wind velocity. The coefficients of general model are 0.6343, 0.0110, 0.0 and 0.0001 for PV module, respectively, with 0.0011 fitting factor. The proposed model has been validated using models in the literature.

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Acknowledgments

The research leading to these results has received Research Project Grant Funding from the Research Council of the Sultanate of Oman, Research Grant Agreement No. ORG SU EI 11 010. The authors would like to acknowledge support from the Research Council of Oman. The authors would like to thank Mr Mohammed Shameer, the supervisor of X-ray center for material analysis at the University of Sharjah in U.A.E, for assisting in the analysis of dust samples. Finally, thanks go to Mr Miqdam T Chaichan from University of Technology, Iraq.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Zeki Ahmed Darwish, K. Sopian & M. A. Alghoul

  2. Sohar University, PO Box 44, Sohar, PCI 311, Oman

    Hussein A. Kazem

  3. University of Sharjah, PO Box 27272, Sharjah, UAE

    Hussain Alawadhi

Authors
  1. Zeki Ahmed Darwish
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  2. Hussein A. Kazem
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  3. K. Sopian
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  4. M. A. Alghoul
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  5. Hussain Alawadhi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hussein A. Kazem.

Appendix A

Appendix A

See Table 8.

Table 8 Implicit equations for I, V, P, E, H, W, T and S with coefficient and normal residuals for fitting
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Darwish, Z.A., Kazem, H.A., Sopian, K. et al. Experimental investigation of dust pollutants and the impact of environmental parameters on PV performance: an experimental study. Environ Dev Sustain 20, 155–174 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-016-9875-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-016-9875-7

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