Design, construction and evaluation of a flat plate collector for heating the anaerobic digestion reservoir water

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Khuzestan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran

2 Department of Agricultural Machinery and Mechanization, University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Khuzestan, Iran

Abstract

Solar collectors are a kind of heat exchangers in which solar radiation energy is transmitted to the internal energy of a transferring substance such as water. In any solar system, collectors are the main system of the system. In fact, a solar collector is a device that absorbs and absorbs the sun's intake of radiation energy. This heat is then absorbed, transmitted by a fluid (usually air, water or oil) flowing through the collector. This solar energy is absorbed or converted directly to hot water through a rotating fluid in the collector, or transferred to air conditioners and can easily be consumed. The stored energy can also be stored in a heat storage tank to be used at night or when cloudy sky is used for various uses. In the present study, a laboratory scale was used to construct and evaluate a solar collector and use it to heat the anaerobic digestion reservoirs. The test and test of the collector made in the month of October and the measurement of its thermal efficiency in November 2012 in two sunny and cloudy days. Heating systems in an anaerobic digestion system that operates in an energy-efficient way generate high energy consumption, which is not economically feasible. For this purpose, a collector with rectangular cube plates with dimensions of 50 * 110 cm was designed and tested. The results of the research showed that the collector is well heated with anaerobic digester reservoir and provides a suitable temperature for producing biogas.

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