Investigation of turbidity effect on energy transmission in a solar pond

Abstract

Renewable energy sources, such as solar, play a key role due to their environmentally benign nature. There are various types of solar energy applications, including solar ponds. A solar pond consists of three different density zones: Upper Convective Zone (UCZ), Non-convective Zone (NCZ), and Heat Storage Zone (HSZ). The zones’s density increases from top to bottom of the pond. Each of the zones is important and affects the performance of the pond. Because of this, many investigators aim to increase the efficiency of the pond for better performance. There are also some key parameters affecting the efficiency. One of them is turbidity, which is caused by dirt over time (e.g., insects, leaf, dust, and wind bringing parts falling down). Thus, the turbidity in the salty water decreases the heat transmission through the zones. In this study, the samples are taken from the zones of the solar pond and analyzed by using a spectrometer for one year. Furthermore, the results confirm that the performance of solar ponds is greatly affected by turbidity.