Sustainable clean water and power

Lead Research Organisation: Imperial College London
Department Name: Chemical Engineering

Abstract

In order to accelerate renewable-energy penetration and meet ambitious emissions targets that have been set, further research and innovation are required to promote technologies in high-density urban environments, where low-carbon renewable energy has a significant potential to displace and mitigate environmental issues associated with fossil-fuel use (emissions/other pollutants), as well as in off-grid communities and micro-grids in rapidly-growing regions with a substantial solar resource.
Two-thirds of Africa's population is still lacking access to electricity, 80% of which lives in rural areas. Off-grid, distributed solar-energy supply has the potential to help Africa eradicate energy poverty, increase living standards, boost economic growth, while avoiding pollution, enhancing security, resilience and sustainability. Hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) systems are highly-suitable solutions for meeting the complete energy needs of urban and off-grid environments, as they generate both electrical and thermal outputs from the same area with a higher total efficiency than separate, standalone systems, and can be readily integrated with other technologies (e.g. for cooling, water or storage) within wider, wholistic energy systems. PVT technology is considered superior in terms of energy density (by 15-20%), and can reduce emissions by 30-40%, space by 20-30%, and investment costs by 10-20% compared to equivalent side-by-side PV and solar-thermal systems delivering the same energy outputs. This project will investigate the potential of a disruptive solar PVT concept (under development in separate projects), capable of providing up to 34x more useful energy compared to standard PV and 1.5-2x more energy than conventional PVT panels per unit area, thus outperforming best-in-class panels at a cost competitive with low-cost panels with much lower performance. This would be an unparalleled solution for simultaneous heating/cooling, hot and/or clean water provision, alongside electricity generation, in area-constrained or hot/arid regions with a significant solar resource and fast-growing developing economies.

The aims are to assess the combined technological, economic, environmental and social potential of this PVT-technology integrated into combined heating/cooling/power systems, identifying the most promising solutions and operating strategies for achieving higher yields in targeted locations at low-cost, including solutions to address solar intermittency, e.g. energy/water storage. This will be achieved by integrating technology models with advanced economic and environmental sustainability assessment methodologies, holistic considerations of the status and trends of energy prices, technology developments, regional resources and policies. Cost-competitiveness analyses over conventional supplies will be conducted by accounting for energy-price and technology-cost projections. Emissions and environmental impacts will be assessed by using life-cycle sustainability assessments.
Case studies will be conducted in collaboration with partners Desolenator (SSCP proposed collaborative partner) and Solar-Polar, in two diverse and highly-transferable representative settings: 1) urban environments, to reduce reliance on electricity grid and promote solar penetration; 2) rural micro-grids, to enable clean and affordable energy supply in developing, energy-poor regions. Workshops are planned to collect locally-relevant data on weather, environment and energy-use, and engage diverse, local stakeholders to discuss social and legislative barriers from their perspectives.
The project will demonstrate the affordability and sustainability potential of solar PVTbased whole-energy solutions, provide guidance to interested stakeholders, and insights for investment and policy development

Studentship Projects

Project Reference Relationship Related To Start End Student Name
NE/S007415/1 30/09/2019 29/09/2028
2451429 Studentship NE/S007415/1 30/09/2020 31/12/2024 Benedict Winchester
 
Title A Random Forest Regression Model of a Sheet-and-tube Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Panel 
Description A 2D model of a hybrid sheet-and-tube photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) solar collector. These modelling files can be used to assess the performance of hybrid PV-T sheet-and-tube collectors in a wide range of environmental conditions. The files uploaded are the result of training a decision-tree regressor algorithm on a 3D technical model of a hybrid sheet-and-tube PV-T collector to produce an accurate, high-speed model capable of encapsulating the performance characteristics of the collector design considered at a lower (1/100th) of the computation time. 
Type Of Material Computer model/algorithm 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact The modelling tools were utilised in a conference publication: Winchester B., Huang G., Sandwell P., Nelson J., and Markides C. N., 2022, Integrated simulation and optimisation of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) and photovoltaic systems for decentralised rural hot water provision and electrification, ECOS 2022 - The 35th International Conference On Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems, Publisher: ECOS 
URL https://zenodo.org/record/6647054
 
Title HEATDesalination 
Description HEATDesalination: Simulation and optimisation of hybrid electric and thermal powered desalination systems 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2023 
Open Source License? Yes  
Impact This software has been used: - For modelling work with an industrial partner, - For results submitted to ECOS 2023, the 36th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems - For results in preparation for submission to a journal - For results used on a poster 
URL https://zenodo.org/record/7612966
 
Title HEATPanel 
Description A technical 3D energy-transfer model of a sheet-and-tube hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) collector. 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2022 
Open Source License? Yes  
Impact This model has been used for: - A conference paper: Winchester B., Huang G., Sandwell P., Nelson J., and Markides C. N., 2022, Integrated simulation and optimisation of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) and photovoltaic systems for decentralised rural hot water provision and electrification, ECOS 2022 - The 35th International Conference On Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems, Publisher: ECOS; 
URL https://zenodo.org/record/7097076
 
Description "Climate change and solar" - St Domonic's Sixth Form College, Harrow on the Hill 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Around 50 pupils from the Sixth Form College, all of those studying Physics and a good portion of those studying Maths from both upper- and lower-sixth years, attended a talk in the school's chapel. The talk covered some of the science around Climate Change, the motivation for the shift towards renewables, and some of the Physics behind the solar collectors that I study.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_du4sJTYyWw_G3W8Xgp94v0EXZLn_5cSpaFdMx5GsyY/edit?usp=sharing
 
Description "Protecting through Engineering" - Part of "Protecting Our Planet 2022" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The "Protecting our Planet" day engaged with primary- and secondary-school children across the country through a range of activities ranging from live-streamed video from the British Antarctic Survey and the Frozen-Planet team in the morning to career-focused panel discussions in the afternoon. I was part of the "Protecting through Engineering" panel which aimed to give an insight into how Engineering can be used to help address Climate Change. The panel discussion was broadcasted over the livestream into classrooms nationwide.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://protectingourplanet.org.uk/protecting-our-planet-through-engineering/