LAPSE:2023.33581
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.33581
Life Cycle Assessment of the Use of Phase Change Material in an Evacuated Solar Tube Collector
April 21, 2023
This paper presents an environmental impact assessment of the entire cycle of existence of the tube-vacuum solar collector prototype. The innovativeness of the solution involved using a phase change material as a heat-storing material, which was placed inside the collector’s tubes-vacuum. The PCM used in this study was paraffin. The system boundaries contained three phases: production, operation (use phase), and disposal. An ecological life cycle assessment was carried out using the SimaPro software. To compare the environmental impact of heat storage, the amount of heat generated for 15 years, starting from the beginning of a solar installation for preparing domestic hot water for a single-family residential building, was considered the functional unit. Assuming comparable production methods for individual elements of the ETC and waste management scenarios, the reduction in harmful effects on the environment by introducing a PCM that stores heat inside the ETC ranges from 17 to 24%. The performed analyses have also shown that the method itself of manufacturing the materials used for the construction of the solar collector and the choice of the scenario of the disposal of waste during decommissioning the solar collector all play an important role in its environmental assessment. With an increase in the application of the advanced technologies of materials manufacturing and an increase in the amount of waste subjected to recycling, the degree of the solar collector’s environmental impact decreased by 82% compared to its standard manufacture and disposal.
Keywords
evacuated solar tube collector, heat storage, LCA, phase change material (PCM)
Subject
Suggested Citation
Jachura A, Sekret R. Life Cycle Assessment of the Use of Phase Change Material in an Evacuated Solar Tube Collector. (2023). LAPSE:2023.33581
Author Affiliations
Jachura A: Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, Czestochowa University of Technology, 42-201 Częstochowa, Poland [ORCID]
Sekret R: Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, Czestochowa University of Technology, 42-201 Częstochowa, Poland [ORCID]
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
14
First Page
4146
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-07-09
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
Version Comments
Original Submission
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PII: en14144146, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2023.33581
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doi:10.3390/en14144146
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Apr 21, 2023
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CC BY 4.0
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Apr 21, 2023
 
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