IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i13p4688-d848398.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficiency of Semi-Automatic Control Ethanol Distillation Using a Vacuum-Tube Parabolic Solar Collector

Author

Listed:
  • Sumol Sae-Heng Pisitsungkakarn

    (College of Industrial Technology (CIT), King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), 1518 Pracharat 1 Road, Wongsawang, Bangsue, Bangkok 10800, Thailand
    Research Centre for Combustion Technology and Alternative Energy (CTAE), Science and Technology Research Institute, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok 10800, Thailand)

  • Pichitpon Neamyou

    (Research Centre for Combustion Technology and Alternative Energy (CTAE), Science and Technology Research Institute, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok 10800, Thailand
    Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (Rayong Campus), Rayong 21120, Thailand)

Abstract

Thailand is an agricultural country with several agro-industrial by-products that can be processed into fuels. Although producing ethanol from agro-industrial by-products is an interesting option, the process of distilling ethanol from fermented agricultural products requires a high temperature to increase the ethanol concentration from 10% to 95%. In this research, solar ethanol distillation equipment incorporating a solar parabolic collector with a vacuum heat absorber tube to increase efficiency by reducing heat loss was designed and developed. An electronic device was used to control the distillation process, maintain the required temperature, and make suitable adjustments to the solar radiation acceptance angles of the parabolic solar collector. Ethanol dilution at concentrations of 10%, 15%, and 20%, and Sato (Thai Rice Wine) were used as the reactant in the distillation process. The result of distilling ethanol distillation with a semi-automatic control using a vacuum-tube parabolic solar collector showed that the thermal efficiency of the receiver was 12.61%, 13.93%, 18.58%, and 17.40%, respectively. The thermal efficiency of the heat exchanger was 11.27%, 10.76%, 13.35%, and 12.35%, respectively. The final concentration of ethanol was 67%, 76%, 82%, and 80%, respectively, and the amount of the distilled ethanol was 330 mL, 352 mL, 398 mL, and 360 mL, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Sumol Sae-Heng Pisitsungkakarn & Pichitpon Neamyou, 2022. "Efficiency of Semi-Automatic Control Ethanol Distillation Using a Vacuum-Tube Parabolic Solar Collector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:13:p:4688-:d:848398
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/13/4688/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/13/4688/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vorayos, N. & Kiatsiriroat, T. & Vorayos, N., 2006. "Performance analysis of solar ethanol distillation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(15), pages 2543-2554.
    2. Tomasz Janusz Teleszewski & Mirosław Żukowski & Dorota Anna Krawczyk & Antonio Rodero, 2021. "Analysis of the Applicability of the Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants in the Locations with a Temperate Climate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, May.
    3. Javed Akhter & Syed I. Gilani & Hussain H. Al-Kayiem & Muzaffar Ali, 2019. "Optical Performance Analysis of Single Flow Through and Concentric Tube Receiver Coupled with a Modified CPC Collector Under Different Configurations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-24, October.
    4. Adil Al-Falahi & Falah Alobaid & Bernd Epple, 2020. "Design and Thermo-Economic Comparisons of an Absorption Air Conditioning System Based on Parabolic Trough and Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-27, June.
    5. Goedecke, Martin & Therdthianwong, Supaporn & Gheewala, Shabbir H., 2007. "Life cycle cost analysis of alternative vehicles and fuels in Thailand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 3236-3246, June.
    6. Moosavian, Seyed Farhan & Borzuei, Daryoosh & Ahmadi, Abolfazl, 2021. "Energy, exergy, environmental and economic analysis of the parabolic solar collector with life cycle assessment for different climate conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 301-320.
    7. Chanthawong, Anuman & Dhakal, Shobhakar & Jongwanich, Juthathip, 2016. "Supply and demand of biofuels in the fuel market of Thailand: Two stage least square and three least square approaches," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 431-443.
    8. Andrea Gilioli & Francesco Cadini & Luca Abbiati & Giulio Angelo Guido Solero & Massimo Fossati & Andrea Manes & Lino Carnelli & Carla Lazzari & Stefano Cardamone & Marco Giglio, 2021. "Finite Element Modelling of a Parabolic Trough Collector for Concentrated Solar Power," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-26, January.
    9. Chuan Jiang & Lei Yu & Song Yang & Keke Li & Jun Wang & Peter D. Lund & Yaoming Zhang, 2020. "A Review of the Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) with a Tubular Absorber," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-31, February.
    10. Erdoğan Arıkan & Serkan Abbasoğlu & Mustafa Gazi, 2018. "Experimental Performance Analysis of Flat Plate Solar Collectors Using Different Nanofluids," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-11, May.
    11. Junfen Li & Hang Guo & Qingpeng Meng & Yuting Wu & Fang Ye & Chongfang Ma, 2020. "Thermodynamic Analysis and Comparison of Two Small-Scale Solar Electrical Power Generation Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-19, December.
    12. Yuelei Yang & Kevin Boots & Dan Zhang, 2012. "A Sustainable Ethanol Distillation System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-14, January.
    13. Mohammad Akrami & Husain Alsari & Akbar A. Javadi & Mahdieh Dibaj & Raziyeh Farmani & Hassan E.S. Fath & Alaa H. Salah & Abdelazim Negm, 2020. "Analysing the Material Suitability and Concentration Ratio of a Solar-Powered Parabolic trough Collector (PTC) Using Computational Fluid Dynamics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    14. Gabriele Guidi & Umair Shafqat Malik & Andrea Manes & Stefano Cardamone & Massimo Fossati & Carla Lazzari & Claudio Volpato & Marco Giglio, 2020. "Laser Scanner-Based 3D Digitization for the Reflective Shape Measurement of a Parabolic Trough Collector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, October.
    15. Tian, Y. & Zhao, C.Y., 2013. "A review of solar collectors and thermal energy storage in solar thermal applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 538-553.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Riaz, Hamza & Ali, Muzaffar & Akhter, Javed & Sheikh, Nadeem Ahmed & Rashid, Muhammad & Usman, Muhammad, 2023. "Numerical and experimental investigations of an involute shaped solar compound parabolic collector with variable concentration ratio," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    2. Miguel J. Prieto & Juan Á. Martínez & Rogelio Peón & Lourdes Á. Barcia & Fernando Nuño, 2017. "On the Convenience of Using Simulation Models to Optimize the Control Strategy of Molten-Salt Heat Storage Systems in Solar Thermal Power Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    3. Aikifa Raza & Jin-You Lu & Safa Alzaim & Hongxia Li & TieJun Zhang, 2018. "Novel Receiver-Enhanced Solar Vapor Generation: Review and Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, January.
    4. Wang, Ruilin & Qu, Wanjun & Hong, Hui & Sun, Jie & Jin, Hongguang, 2018. "Experimental performance of 300 kWth prototype of parabolic trough collector with rotatable axis and irreversibility analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 595-609.
    5. Islam, Kazi & Riggs, Brian & Ji, Yaping & Robertson, John & Spitler, Christopher & Romanin, Vince & Codd, Daniel & Escarra, Matthew D., 2019. "Transmissive microfluidic active cooling for concentrator photovoltaics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 906-915.
    6. Hossain, Farzad & Karim, Md. Rezwanul & Bhuiyan, Arafat A., 2022. "A review on recent advancements of the usage of nano fluid in hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 114-131.
    7. Li, Yantong & Huang, Gongsheng & Xu, Tao & Liu, Xiaoping & Wu, Huijun, 2018. "Optimal design of PCM thermal storage tank and its application for winter available open-air swimming pool," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 224-235.
    8. Liu, Jiatao & Lu, Shilei, 2024. "Thermal performance of packed-bed latent heat storage tank integrated with flat-plate collectors under intermittent loads of building heating," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    9. Kumaresan, G. & Sudhakar, P. & Santosh, R. & Velraj, R., 2017. "Experimental and numerical studies of thermal performance enhancement in the receiver part of solar parabolic trough collectors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1363-1374.
    10. Ma, Tao & Zhao, Jiaxin & Li, Zhenpeng, 2018. "Mathematical modelling and sensitivity analysis of solar photovoltaic panel integrated with phase change material," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1147-1158.
    11. Alvi, Jahan Zeb & Feng, Yongqiang & Wang, Qian & Imran, Muhammad & Pei, Gang, 2021. "Effect of phase change materials on the performance of direct vapor generation solar organic Rankine cycle system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    12. Kwon, Gihoon & Tsang, Daniel C.W. & Oh, Jeong-Ik & Kwon, Eilhann E. & Song, Hocheol, 2019. "Pyrolysis of aquatic carbohydrates using CO2 as reactive gas medium: A case study of chitin," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 136-143.
    13. Mario Cascetta & Fabio Serra & Simone Arena & Efisio Casti & Giorgio Cau & Pierpaolo Puddu, 2016. "Experimental and Numerical Research Activity on a Packed Bed TES System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-13, September.
    14. Punia Sindhu, Sonal & Nehra, Vijay & Luthra, Sunil, 2016. "Recognition and prioritization of challenges in growth of solar energy using analytical hierarchy process: Indian outlook," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 332-348.
    15. Laslett, Dean & Carter, Craig & Creagh, Chris & Jennings, Philip, 2017. "A large-scale renewable electricity supply system by 2030: Solar, wind, energy efficiency, storage and inertia for the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) in Western Australia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 713-731.
    16. Damo, U.M. & Ferrari, M.L. & Turan, A. & Massardo, A.F., 2019. "Solid oxide fuel cell hybrid system: A detailed review of an environmentally clean and efficient source of energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 235-246.
    17. Gaur, Ankita & Tiwari, G.N., 2014. "Performance of a-Si thin film PV modules with and without water flow: An experimental validation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 184-191.
    18. Farboud Khatami & Erfan Goharian, 2022. "Beyond Profitable Shifts to Green Energies, towards Energy Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-28, April.
    19. Chen, Jinli & Xiao, Gang & Ferrari, Mario Luigi & Yang, Tianfeng & Ni, Mingjiang & Cen, Kefa, 2020. "Dynamic simulation of a solar-hybrid microturbine system with experimental validation of main parts," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 187-200.
    20. Rostami, Sara & Afrand, Masoud & Shahsavar, Amin & Sheikholeslami, M. & Kalbasi, Rasool & Aghakhani, Saeed & Shadloo, Mostafa Safdari & Oztop, Hakan F., 2020. "A review of melting and freezing processes of PCM/nano-PCM and their application in energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:13:p:4688-:d:848398. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.