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From biomass residue to solar thermal energy: the potential of bagasse as a heat storage material

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Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Solar energy is an ecofriendly potential alternative to nonrenewable sources of energy, which are becoming increasingly scarce. Issues with the use of solar energy, such as temporal variations in the intensity of sunlight, could be solved by storing solar energy. This work introduces the concept of using waste as a sustainable material for energy storage. Sugarcane crop is a potential feedstock for the agro-industry in Egypt. However, while sugarcane is a source of both ethanol and sugar, extracting these substances from sugarcane results in a significant amount of solid biomass waste, known as “bagasse”. This investigation demonstrates that sugarcane bagasse, which is produced in increasingly large quantities each year, could be employed in a cost-efficient method of storing solar energy. In this study, the bagasse was modified using facile chemical and thermal treatments and then examined using XRD (X-ray diffractometry) and SEM (scanning electron microscopy), which revealed the presence of quartz. An inexpensive solar energy storage material was then created by impregnating paraffin wax with the treated bagasse using an ultrasonic technique. This composite material showed excellent form-stable phase-change behaviour that allowed it to absorb large amounts of solar energy, especially around solar noon, and store that energy in the form of heat. The composite was found to store 72 kJ/min of heat, as compared to only 7 kJ/min for pure paraffin. Thus, this study suggests that a composite material capable of enhanced solar energy storage can be created from industrial waste, permitting an environmentally integrated approach to storing green energy.

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Abbreviations

PCM:

Phase-change material

BG:

Bagasse

PCM/BG:

Phase-change material/bagasse

PCM/BG500:

Phase-change material/bagasse treated at 500 °C

TES:

Thermal energy storage

HTF:

Heat transfer fluid

m :

Mass flow rate of water

C p :

Specific heat of water

Q :

Heat stored

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Acknowledgements

The sugarcane milling facility in Minia City in southern Egypt is thanked for providing the milled sugarcane bagasse residues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6103, USA

    Maha A. Tony

  2. Advanced Materials/Solar Energy and Environmental Sustainability (AMSEES) Laboratory, Basic Engineering Science Department, Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University, Shebin El-Kom, Egypt

    Maha A. Tony

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  1. Maha A. Tony
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Correspondence to Maha A. Tony.

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Communicated by Jayanarayan Sahu, Chief Editor.

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Tony, M.A. From biomass residue to solar thermal energy: the potential of bagasse as a heat storage material. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr 5, 17 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-020-00158-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-020-00158-y

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