Energy 254 (2022) 124370

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Experimental investigation of hybrid photovoltaic solar thermal

collector (PV/T)-adsorption desalination system in hot weather
conditions
Mohamed Ghazy a, E.M.M. Ibrahim b, A.S.A. Mohamed a, c, Ahmed A. Askalany a, *
a
Mechanical Department, Faculty of Technology and Education, Sohag University, Sohag, 82524, Egypt
b
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Sohag University, Sohag, 82524, Egypt
c
High Institute for Engineering and Technology, Sohag, Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Solar photovoltaic is one of the most famous renewable energy collectors and the most prevalent. The
Received 31 January 2022 drawback that restricts the widespread use of photovoltaic cells is their relatively low efficiency in hot
Received in revised form weather conditions. The current work investigates effect of cooling photovoltaic cells using an adsorption
15 May 2022
desalination/cooling system (ADS). The proposed system is a new application that simultaneously pro-
Accepted 23 May 2022
Available online 26 May 2022
duces electrical power and desalinated water. Photovoltaic cells are cooled by chilled water produced
during the desalination process of the ADS to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic cells and maximize
the utilization of the ADS. A sheet and tube thermal collector is fabricated to cool the rear PV panel (PV/
Keywords:
Photovoltaic
T). It is found that the proposed system positively affects the performance of both PV cells and the
PV/T collector desalination system. The results showed that the PV/T's electrical and thermal efficiencies are 11.5% and
adsorption desalination system 77.5%, respectively, at 1000 W/m2 solar radiation and 45
C ambient temperature. Performance pa-
Cooling system rameters of the ADS are 6.3 (m3/ton-day) specific daily water productions, 152.2 W/kg specific cooling
power, and 0.25 coefficient of performance. There is an improvement in the electrical power, specific
daily water productions, coefficient of performance, and specific cooling power by 17.5%, 19.69%, 9.9%,
and 6.13%, respectively.
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Photovoltaics are critical in achieving the global transformation
of 100% renewable and sustainable energy sources. This was stated
in a study conducted by the Finnish LUT University and the Energy
Monitoring Group (EWG) over four and a half years in145 sub-
regions and aggregated into nine major world regions [1]. Photo-
voltaics is expected to contribute the most significant percentage of
the total electrical energy supply in 2050, reaching 69%, 18% wind
energy, 3% hydropower, and 6% bioenergy [1,2]. Therefore, photo-
voltaics has attracted researchers' attention [3,4]. Most researches
have focused on addressing deficiencies in the performance of PV
cells related to increased surface temperature [3,5]. As the amount
of solar radiation falling on the PV surface is not all converted into
electrical power, but part of it is reflected, and the other is
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ahmed_askalany3@yahoo.com (A.A. Askalany).
converted into heat, which hinders the movement of photons, and
thus negatively affects the overall performance [6]. Various
photovoltaic cooling technologies have effectively overcome this
deficiency [7]. Among the most important of these technologies are
cooling with air [8], water [9], nanofluids)such as MWCNT, Al2O3,
and CuO([10], heat pump [11], heat pipe [12], and multi-phase
change materials (PCM) [13], which so-called HPV/T system. In
addition, these technologies provide thermal energy that can be
used in many applications that require thermal energy, such as
desalination, thermoelectric, heat pump, building, and heat pipes
[3]. The HPV/T-desalination system is an essential application
because it solves two of the most critical problems: the shortage of
energy and freshwater [14]. This system ensures durability, low
costs, and global warming than conventional desalination systems
[15]. PV/T hybrid desalination systems included the PV/T-solar still,
PV/T-reverse osmosis (RO), PV/T-membrane distillation (MD), PV/T
multi-effect distillation (MED), and PV/T-humidification-
dehumidification desalination (HDH) [14].
In the first place, active solar still is one of the simplest and most

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.124370
0360-5442/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al.
Nomenclature
Ac Net PV surface area (m2)
Isc Short circuit current (A)
Voc Open circuit voltage (V)
Im Current at Pmax (A)
Vm Voltage at Pmax (V)
FF Fill factor ()
G Solar radiation (W/m2)
Pm maximum power of PV module (W)
Qele Electrical energy (W)
Qth Thermal energy (W)
m_ Flow rate of working fluid (kg/s)
Cp Specific heat of working fluid (J/kg
C)
T Temperature (
C)
M Mass of adsorbent material (kg)
Greek letters
hele Electrical efficiency
popular desalination applications. Multi-methods were used to
enhance productivity, such as PCMs and aluminum Powder [16].
Therefore, PV/T hybrid active solar still is an advanced method that
simultaneously enhances PV cell efficiency and water productivity
[17]. This system uses lower saltwater temperature to pre-cool the
PV panel and improve its efficiency. On the other hand, the thermal
energy gained from the PV cells is used to accelerate the distillation
process in the solar still. In this context, Naroei et al. [18] designed
an HPV/T with stepped solar still for remote regions. The perfor-
mance evaluation showed electrical efficiency of 9.5% higher than
the non-cooling PV/T collector by 3%. At the same time, freshwater
production increased by 20% more than conventional stepped solar
still. Kumar et al. [17] investigated the performance of PV/T single
slope active solar still. The daily water production of active solar
still was 6 times better than passive solar still. Also, the overall
efficiency was enhanced by 25% for the active one. Saini et al. [19]
studied the influence of packing factors on the performance of PV/
T-single slope connected with the passive condenser at various PV
cells. The study concluded that the optimum packing factor was
0.85 with 57.5% overall efficiency and 1.78 kg/day of water pro-
duction for the c-Si solar PV module. For the modeling aspects,
Giwa et al. [20] analyzed the performance of PV/T combined with
the HDH desalination system and assessed its environmental
impact. The results showed that desalinated water and electricity
amounted to 833 L/m2 and 278 kW/m2. Elsafi [21] evaluated the
performance of the CPV/T integrated with the HDH desalination
system for small-scale use. It was found that the average water
productivity and electricity reached 12 m3 and 960 kWh per year.
In PV/T-RO hybrid water desalination system, the heat gained
from the PV/T collector increases the feedwater temperature, re-
duces viscosity, and thus increases water diffusion and mass
transfer. Hence, the pressure required for the desired permeability
flux reduces energy consumption [22]. Monjezi et al. [23] intro-
duced a novel integration between the PV/T collector and RO
desalination system to enhance solar energy generation. The results
showed that the energy consumption of the RO system was reduced
by 0.12 kWh/m3, while the power generated by PV/T increased by
6% and decreased the required PV installation area. Ammous and
Chaabene [22] analyzed and assessed the parameters of a dynamic
model of RO desalination and PV/T system. The study concluded
that the average performance was12.5% electrical and 50% thermal
2
Energy 254 (2022) 124370
hth Thermal efficiency
href Reference solar cell efficiency
s Standard deviation of the mean of readings
Subscripts
a Adsorbent material (CPOe27Ni)
w Water
in Inlet water
out Outlet water
chill Chilled water
hw Hot water
des Desorption phase
Abbreviations
SCP Specific cooling power
COP Coefficient of performance
ADS Adsorption desalination system
PVT Photovoltaic thermal collector
HPV/T Hybrid photovoltaic thermal
efficiency, indicating that the excessive heating of the feed water
led to an increase in the salinity of the desalinated water beyond
the acceptable limit.
In the PV/T-MD system, the heat released from the PV/T collector
rise the temperature difference between the membranes (cold and
hot), so the water vapor penetrates the hot, porous side and then
condenses, enhancing the productivity of the desalinated water. Al-
Hrari et al. [24] examined the performance of CPV/T integrated with
a direct distillation membrane system in theory and experiment.
The average results were 18% electrical, 25% thermal, and 71%
overall efficiency; meanwhile, the water productivity was 3 kg/m2/
h with 9200 kJ/kg energy consumed. Krnac et al. [25] approved that
the CPV/T coupled with the direct distillation membrane system
can operate at low temperatures. Results indicated to enhance the
overall efficiency of the CPV/T collector and achieved a mass flux of
7.096 L/m2.h.
In the PV/T-MED system, the thermal energy acquired from the
PV/T collector enhances the saline water evaporation in the first
stage of the MED system instead of conventional heat sources
(fossil fuels and electricity). Zhang et al. [26] evaluated the theo-
retical analysis of a new concentrated PV/T with a multi-effect
distillation system from an energy and exergy perspective. The
system results were 61.43% overall efficiency and an average
desalinated water yield of 0.7107 kg/s with a gain output ratio of
6.59. Calise et al. [27] investigated the performance of a new PV/T
collector integrated with a multi-effect distillation and absorption
chiller. The system achieved 20% electric efficiency, 50% thermal
efficiency, and 10.95 m3/day of water productivity.
Through the previous review of the integrated desalination
systems with PV/T collectors aimed at improving the efficiency of
photovoltaic cells and increasing the amount of desalinated water,
it was found that the performance of integrated PV/T with
adsorption desalination systems was not investigated [15].
Adsorption desalination (ADS) is one of the new systems in the
water desalination field and is characterized by the production of a
cooling effect and freshwater simultaneously [28,29]. This tech-
nique is based on the adsorption phenomenon induced between
activated materials and water vapor [30,31]. The active particles
attract water vapor molecules to stick to their outer surface at low
temperatures, and these vapor molecules repel when the temper-
ature of the activated particles increases [32,33]. The authors have
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al.
conducted many studies on adsorption desalination/cooling sys-
tems, such as testing new adsorptive materials [34,35], optimizing
system design [36], and integrating adsorption desalination with
other systems as a new application [37]. Due to the lack of inves-
tigation of the performance of PV cells integrated with adsorption
desalination systems, this work presents for the first time an
experimental investigation of the performance of a hybrid PV/T
cooled by an adsorption desalination system (HPV/T-ADS) under
hot weather conditions. The proposed system exploits the cooling
effect generated by the desalination system to reduce the over-
heating of PV cells. The study evaluates the performance of a PV
module cooled by the ADS relative to a reference PV module under
the same test conditions and compares it to other cooling tech-
nologies. The study also evaluates the performance of the desali-
nation system with and without the PV/T collector.
2. Experimental setup
The HPV/T-ADS is a new approach to cooling PV cells. The
importance of the proposed system lies in its competitive advan-
tages compared to other cooling technologies. For instance, (a) This
system can work as an independent unit in remote places to pro-
vide electricity and freshwater, (b) It does not need periodic
maintenance because it does not contain moving parts, (c) Envi-
ronmentally friendly (it does not cause carbon emissions), (d) It
works by solar collectors, so do not cause global warming, and (e) It
has a long lifetime [38,39]. In terms of practicality, HPV/T-ADS is
applicable as it consists of two commercially available systems,
namely PV modules and adsorption desalination systems. The
study is conducted outdoors under hot weather conditions in
Sohag, Egypt (26
330 38 “N, 31
41030” E). In this proposed system, a
closed cycle is made to exploit the cooled water from the evapo-
rator of the desalination system to cool the photovoltaic cells and
keep the chilled water at lower temperatures. Meanwhile, taking
advantage of the heat released from the PV/T collector improves the
desalination system's evaporation process.
2.1. PV/T collector
A PV/T system combines electrical and thermal components into
a single structure to enhance the overall efficiency. The electrical
part is the PV module, and the thermal one is the solar thermal
collector, which is installed at the back of the PV module to
decrease the temperature of the PV cells. The PV module is a 30 W
type of polycrystalline silicon (length 69 cm, width 35 cm). The
Specifications of the PV module under standard conditions at 25
C
and 1000 W/m2 of solar radiation are listed in Table 1. The PV/T
collector is a sheet and tube containing an absorber plate, fluid
passages, and insulation, as shown in Fig. 1. The absorber plate is
made of aluminum for low specific heat capacity, high thermal
conductivity, and fast response to slight changes in the surround-
ings and PV cell. Fluid passages are made of copper and configured
Table 1
Specifications of the PV module.
Item value
Dimensions of a cell 0. 35  0.69  0.025 m3
Number of solar cells 36 (125  125 mm2 cut cells)
Open circuit voltage (Voc) 22.3 V
Short circuit current (Isc) 1.82 A
Voltage at Pmax (Vm) 18 V
Current at Pmax (Im) 1.67 A
Operating temperature (T) 40
C 80þ
C
Standard testing condition AM 1.5, 25
C, 1000 W/m2
3
Energy 254 (2022) 124370
as a coil to remove excess heat from the PV plates at peak time and
transfer it to the working fluid. Fluid passages and absorber plates
are installed with the PV sheets using a highly conductive heat
transfer coefficient adhesive to allow the maximum heat to pass
through. Two insulation layers are applied to the heat collector,
made of fiberglass and rubber, to prevent heat loss by convection
and conduction.
2.2. Adsorption desalination/cooling system
The adsorption desalination system has four main parts, two
adsorption beds, an evaporator, and a condenser (see Figs. 2 and 3).
The two adsorption beds contain the activated material
(CPOe27Ni) packed into a finned tube heat exchanger. The
adsorption beds are a cylinder made of stainless steel to resist
corrosion. One of these, bed-1, works at high temperatures
(desorption process), and the other bed-2 works at low tempera-
tures (adsorption process), and they are switched between them
simultaneously to ensure continuity of the system. The adsorption
bed-2 is connected to the evaporator to receive the water vapor,
while the adsorption bed-1 is connected to the condenser to
condensate water vapor and produce the desalinated water. The
adsorption bed-1 is heated by a heating storage tank driven by an
evacuated tube solar collector, and the adsorption bed-2 is cooled
by a cooling source such as seawater (under outdoor weather
conditions). The evaporator is a stainless-steel cylindrical vessel
with a copper helical heat exchanger. It receives seawater and
evaporates it under vacuum pressure, producing chilled water that
will cool the PV cells (see Figs. 2 and 3). The chilled water flows
between the evaporator and PV/T heat exchanger as a closed loop
by the water pump. The condenser construction is similar to the
design of the evaporator rather than the heat exchanger is a coil
type. Also, the condenser is cooled from the same adsorption bed-2
cooling source. It should be noted that the combination of the ADS
and PV/T collector does not require an additional water pump, so
the consumed energy by the PV/T is embodied in the fluid flow
energy.
2.3. Experimental procedure
Two PV modules are installed at the same specifications and
location, as shown in Fig. 3. One of these PV modules is connected
by the chilled water of the adsorption desalination system. Both
modules are installed in the south direction, where the highest rate
of solar radiation. The experiment procedure begins by preparing
the adsorption desalination system according to the following
steps;
o The system is vacuumed from water vapor using a vacuum
pump up to 0.1 kPa.
oThe adsorption bed-1 is heated using an evacuated solar col-
lector supported by an auxiliary heater, and the bed-2 is cooled
using the seawater, which is 25e30
C.
oThe evaporator is fed by seawater, and the valve between bed-2
and the evaporator is opened. It can be seen that the seawater
begins to turn into vapor due to the vacuum pressure in bed-2,
and then the water vapor is directed to it. Also, the valve be-
tween bed-1 and the condenser is opened to allow the water
vapor to condense.
oAs a result of the evaporation of the seawater inside the
evaporator, the chilled water temperature decreases. Here, the
water pump of the PV/T collector is operated to transmit the
cooling effect from the evaporator to the back of the PV panel.
The chilled water flow rate is controlled using a voltage
regulator.
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al. Energy 254 (2022) 124370

Fig. 1. 1-Schematic of PV/T components, 2-Fabrication of the PV/T collector, and 3- Rear PV/T collector.

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the PV/T integrated with adsorption desalination system.

4
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al. Energy 254 (2022) 124370

Fig. 3. Photograph of the experimental HPV/T with adsorption desalination system.

oAdsorption bed-2 remains open to the evaporator until the

adsorption materials are saturated by water vapor, and then the
Im :Vm
evaporator valve is closed. Similarly, the condenser valve is FF ¼ (2)
closed after condensing the expelled water vapor from bed-1. ISC :VOC
oDesorption bed-1 reverses the procedures of the adsorption
Where Pm is the maximum power of the PV module in watts, FF is
bed-1 to obtain a continuous cycle. Finally, the desalinated
called the fill factor. The generated electrical energy can also be
water is collected from the condenser and evaluated.
estimated by applying the following equation [3];

2.4. System performance Qele ¼ Pm ¼ hele GAc (3)

2.4.1. PV/T collector performance Thermal efficiency is beneficial thermal energy to the overall
The performance of the PV/T system is evaluated by electrical solar radiation absorbed by the PV panel surface. The thermal ef-
and thermal efficiency. The electrical efficiency (hele) of the PV ficiency equation can be expressed by:
module is defined as the ratio of the produced power (P) to the
overall solar radiation absorbed by the PV panel surface as the


Qth m_ w cpw chill Tchill; out  Tchill; in
follows [3]; hth ¼ ¼ (4)
Ac G Ac G
Pm FF:ISC :VOC
hele ¼ ¼ (1) Where m_ and Cp represents the working fluid's flow rate and spe-
GAC GAC
cific heat in kg/s and kJ/kg. K, respectively; To and Ti are the inlet and
outlet chilled water temperature,
C.

5
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al. Energy 254 (2022) 124370

2.4.2. Adsorption desalination system performance

The system performance is determined by SCP in W/kg and COP. s ðxÞ
Ur ¼ pffiffiffi (7)
The two parameters are expressed respectively by the following 3
[32];
ðUcal Þ


 U1 ¼ (8)
m_ w cpw T
chill chill; in
 Tchill; out 2
SCP ¼ (5)
Ma tcycle
ðUacu Þ
U2 ¼ pffiffiffi (9)


  3
m_ w cpw chill Tchill; in  Tchill; out
COP ¼

 (6)
m_ w cpw des Thw; in  Thw; out ðUres Þ
U2 ¼ pffiffiffi (10)
3
Where Ma is the weight of CPO-27Ni material packed into the beds,
and tcycle is the cycle time of the adsorption and desorption phase. qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Uc ¼ ðUr Þ2 þ ðU1 Þ2 þ ðU2 Þ2 þ ðU3 Þ2 (11)

Where s is the standard deviation of the mean of readings ðxÞ Ures is

2.5. Measurement instruments
Experimental measurements included measuring power, solar
radiation, temperature, pressure, and flow rate. The power gener-
ated by the PV module is measured by a multi-function digital
multi-meter type of RO'SKIT MT-1820. It can measure DC voltage
and current with a feature of Bar Graph. The DC voltage and current
are measured in 60V and 10A mode, with an average accuracy of
0.5%. The solar radiation is measured using CM4 Pyranometer, a
radiometer specially designed for measuring solar radiation under
a wide range of temperatures from 40
C to þ150
C and mea-
surement up to 4000 W/m2. It is worth noting that the accuracy of
the CM4 Pyranometer was recorded at 3%. The temperatures are
measured by type T thermocouple that ranges between 0 and
200
C for extension wire and 270 to 370
C for thermocouple
grade wire. Temperature sensors are distributed in the PV/T col-
lector to measure the front and rear PV surface, water inlet/outlet,
and ambient temperatures. Also, in the adsorption desalination
system, inlet/outlet water of the evaporator, condenser, and
adsorption/desorption bed and heating tank temperatures are
measured. Four pressure transmitters monitor the vacuum pres-
sure in the adsorption beds, evaporator, and condenser to deter-
mine the cycle time of adsorption and desorption phase of ADS. The
range of the pressure transmitters is from 0 to 0.350 bar. ADS and
PV/T collector control the water flow rate using a float flowmeter
with a 0.4e8 L/min measurement range.
2.6. Uncertainty analysis
The instrument's uncertainty is evaluated by calculating com-
bined standard uncertainty (Uc), as shown in Table 2. This includes
calculating the uncertainty of the reading (Ur), calibration (U1),
accuracy (U2), and resolution (U3), according to the following
equations;
the uncertainty of the calibration at a coverage factor of 95%
approximately and a 2 confidence level. The Uacu is the accuracy of
the measurements. Ures is the resolution limit to a measurement
instrument.
3. Results and discussion
Both Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show the effect of the flow rate of chilled
water on the performance parameters of the HPVT-ADS and
determine the optimum operating conditions. The investigation is
performed at various chilled water inlet temperatures of 28
C,
33
C, and 38
C with flow rates of 1e4 L/min. All experiments are
carried out in the same outdoor conditions. Generally, it can be
noted that the performance parameters values improve sharply
with increasing the flow rate from 1 to 2 L/min and improve slightly
at flow rates above 2 L/min. As shown in Fig. 4, the optimum COP of
the desalination system of 28
C and 33
C was recorded at 2 L/min,
which means that operating the system at a 3 or 4 L/min flow rate
will consume more energy to no avail, despite a modest increase in
specific cooling power (SCP) at these flow rates. Also, it can be
noted that increasing the chilled water improves the COP and SCP.
This indicates that if the PV panel is cooled at 28
C and the cooling
water temperature is raised to 33
C due to hot weather conditions,
it will positively affect the performance of the desalination system.
Similarly, in Fig. 5, the increase in the specific water daily pro-
duction (SWDP) and electric power curve slows down at flow rates
higher than 2 L/min. On the other hand, it is observed that the
SWDP curve adopts the same behavior as the COP and SCP in terms
of the maximum performance results at the highest temperature of
33
C. In contrast, the maximum electrical power is obtained at the
lowest temperature of 28
C with a 3% increase compared to 33
C.
Fig. 6 shows the climatic conditions during which the experi-
ments were conducted. Climate data included ambient tempera-
ture, solar radiation, wind speed, and relative humidity. It should be
noted that the data refer to hot weather conditions. At noon, the

Table 2
uncertainty values of the instruments used in the measurements.

Components Scale Accuracy Resolution Ur U1 U2 U3 Uc

Voltmeter 0e60V 0.5% 0.001 0.065 0.03 0.034 0.003 0.074

Ammeter 0e10 A 1.2% 0.001 0.006 0.003 0.007 0.0003 0.01
Pyranometer 15e4000 W/m2 3% 0.1 0.33 0.15 0.017 0.029 0.36
Pressure 0e350 mbar 0.1% 0.001 0.28 0.12 0.0006 0.0029 0.31
Flow meter 0.4e8L/min 4% 0.1 0.1 0.05 0.023 0.028 0.11

6
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al.
Fig. 4. Influence of the chilled water flow rate of HPV/T-ADS on (a) COP and (b) SCP.
maximum solar radiation is recorded at 1005 W/m2, while the
maximum ambient temperature is 48
C at 3:00 p.m. It can also be
noted that the wind speed ranged between 1.5 and 3.5 m/s, while
the relative humidity ranged between 26% and 28%, where the
lowest values of relative humidity and wind speed are recorded at
the peak time.
Fig. 7 depicts a temperature profile of the main components of
the HPV/T-ADS for a full day under weather conditions. The figure
includes the inlet and outlet temperature of the bed 1 and 2,
evaporator, and condenser. It is noted that the average temperature
of the water heating source is 95
C. A decrease and increase in the
hot water inlet temperature can be observed due to the tempera-
ture variation in the initial metallic mass of the adsorption beds and
the hot water. The evaporator reduced the chilled water tempera-
ture from 38
C to 26
C through 8 operating cycles. It is noticed
that the chilled water temperature reached 38
C from 12 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. due to the high solar radiation intensity on the PV surface
at the peak time. Sub-Fig. 1 shows the operation cycle time during
the adsorption and desorption phases, where the whole cycle time
is 12 min, including a 30s switching time between the adsorption
7
Energy 254 (2022) 124370
and desorption phases. It can also be seen that the average tem-
perature of the condenser is about 40
C, with a noticeable increase
in temperature when switching between the two phases. Adsorp-
tion bed-1 is opened to the condenser during the desorption phase,
and the temperature rises due to the vapor coming to the
condensate. In contrast, the evaporator temperature decreases
when the adsorption/desorption phases are switched due to
opening the evaporator on the adsorption bed-2. The pressure in
the evaporator decreases, causing evaporation of the evaporator
water and a decrease in chilled water temperature. In sub-Fig. 2, a
temperature difference can be observed between the inlet and
outlet of the cooled water. This is due to the flow rate of chilled
water in the closed cycle between the evaporator of the desalina-
tion system and the PV/T collector, which is estimated at 1 min.
Fig. 8 shows the temperature profile of a PV/T collector com-
bined with the adsorption desalination system and a no-cooling PV
panel as a reference unit measured under the same external con-
ditions. A sharp rise in the surface temperature of the cooled and
uncooled panel can be observed starting at 8:30 a.m., and this can
be explained by the increase in the solar radiation intensity and the
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al.
Fig. 5. Influence of the chilled water flow rate of HPV/T-ADS on (a) SDWP and (b)
electric power.
decrease in wind speed at this time (see Fig. 6). Also, starting at 8:30
a.m., the temperature difference between the cooled and uncooled
PV panel surface gradually increased, exceeding 20
C at peak time.
Also, starting at 8:30 a.m., the temperature variation between the
cooled and uncooled PV panel surface gradually increased,
exceeding 20
C at peak time. This difference indicates the effec-
tiveness of the desalination system in cooling the photovoltaic cells.
This temperature difference converges when the solar radiation
fades, which means that convection is only the ambient tempera-
ture. Therefore, the surface and back temperature converged with
the inlet and outlet after 6:00 for the cooled PV panel. Meanwhile,
the surface and back temperature of the uncooled PV panel
equalized the ambient temperature.
Fig. 9 shows the hourly changes in the electrical efficiency of
each uncooled PV panel and cooled PV by the desalination system.
Comparing the performance behavior of the PV/T collector with the
temperature profile in Fig. 8 confirms that the efficiency of the cells
is strongly affected by the temperature of the cell surface. This is
evident in the deterioration of the electrical efficiency of the un-
cooled cell whenever its surface temperature increases, especially
at the peak time, where the lowest value of electrical efficiency
reached 9.4% in conjunction with the maximum temperature
recorded for the cell surface of 72
C. On the other hand, the
8
Energy 254 (2022) 124370
efficiency of the cooled photovoltaic panel stabilized at the peak
time at 11.5%, to record the highest improvement rate, out-
performing its uncooled counterpart by 17.4%. At the daily level, the
average electrical efficiency of the cooled and the uncooled PV
panels are 11% and 10%, respectively, with a rate that exceeded the
cooled PV's 10%, which confirms the effectiveness of the cooling
process using the desalination system at the peak time more than
other times.
Fig. 10 shows the relationship between the generated electrical/
thermal power and solar radiation for the cooled and uncooled
panels. It can be observed that the electrical power generated forms
a linear relationship with the increase in the amount of solar ra-
diation. The maximum electrical power generated by the cooled
and uncooled panels is 115 and 96 W/m2, respectively, at maximum
solar radiation of 1000 W/m2 and a flow rate of cooled water of 2 L/
min. It is clear that the competitiveness of the cooling panel
compared to the reference panel appears at a solar rate higher than
300 W/m2 because both panels at less than 300 W/m2 are at almost
the same temperature. Correlation equations are also deduced to
evaluate the electrical and thermal power of the PV modules at any
solar radiation value.
Fig. 11 shows the change in thermal efficiency and the heat
gained from the PV/T to the adsorption desalination system during
the test period. It can be noted that the behavior of the acquired
heat curve depends primarily on the amount of solar radiation and
thus is reflected in the surface temperature of the cell, where the
maximum value of the acquired heat and thermal efficiency
reached 775 W/m2 and 77.5% at solar radiation of 1000 W/m2 at the
time of noon (see Fig. 6). The heat gain is evaluated based on the
chilled water flow rate of 2 L/min as the best-estimated flow rate, as
shown in Figs. 4 and 5. It is also found that the averages of the
amount of heat gained and the daily thermal efficiency recorded
about 650 W/m2 and 75.5%, respectively.
Figs. 12 and 13 show the performance parameters before and
after integrating the adsorption desalination system with the PV/T
system. It can be noted that the performance of the HPV/T-ADS
showed a remarkable superiority compared to the performance of
each system separately. Fig. 12 shows the performance improve-
ment concerning the COP and the SCP of the desalination system.
The COP and SCP of ADS are recorded at 0.23 and 143.5 W/m2, while
the hybrid ADS with PV/T showed 0.25 COP and 152.3 W/m2 SCP,
respectively. This improvement can be interpreted by referring to
Fig. 4, which shows that the COP and the SCP increase with the
increase in the chilled water temperature at the same flow rate
because the energy required to heat the adsorption beds decreases
as the temperature of the water vapor going from the evaporator to
the adsorption chambers increases. The chilled water temperature
increases during the peak time in the proposed system, as shown in
Fig. 7. Also, in Fig. 13, the electrical power and SDWP recorded
before the hybrid system 95.76 W/m2 and 5.27 m3/tonne-day) and
after the hybrid system recorded 112.5 W/m2 and 6.3m3/tonne-day,
respectively. The improvement in electrical capacity is due to the
significant reduction in the temperature of the photovoltaic cell
during cooling. The increase in the amount of desalinated water is
due to the temporary rise that occurred at noon in the chilled water
inlet temperature, as the rate of evaporation in the system
increased, and therefore an immense amount of water vapor ten-
ded to condensate inside the condenser.
Fig. 14 evaluates the percentage of improvement in the param-
eters of the proposed system. The electrical power of the photo-
voltaic system achieves the highest improvement rate of 17.5%,
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al. Energy 254 (2022) 124370

Fig. 6. Climate conditions (a) solar radiation and ambient temperature, (b) wind speed and relative humidity with ±3 error bars.

Fig. 7. Temperature profile of the adsorption desalination system integrated with PV/T collector.

9
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al.
Fig. 8. Temperature profile of the PV/T collector integrated with adsorption desali-
nation system.
Fig. 9. Hourly changes in the electrical efficiency with the time of day.
Fig. 10. Relationship between the generated electrical power and solar radiation with
±3 error bars.
followed by the COP of the desalination system by 9.9%. While the
improvement rate in the quantity of desalinated water (SDWP) and
the SCP is 19.69% and 6.13%, respectively. These results indicate the
effectiveness of the proposed system at the two levels of produc-
tion of electricity and desalinated water.
Fig. 15 shows a comparison of the performance of the proposed
system with other cooling technologies, while Fig. 16 shows a
10
Energy 254 (2022) 124370
Fig. 11. Change in thermal efficiency and the heat gain of the PV/T collector.
Fig. 12. COP and the SCP before and after integrating the ADS with the PV/T system.
Fig. 13. Electrical power and the SDWP before and after integrating the ADS with the
PV/T system.
comparison with integrated desalination systems with a similar
flat-plate PV/T collector. It is clear from Fig. 15 that although the
results of electrical efficiency did not exceed 11.5%, they out-
performed the electrical efficiency improvement rate by 17.5%
compared to other techniques. It can be seen that the inclusion of
the electrical improvement rate provides a more in-depth com-
parison since it takes into account the efficiency of the same PV cell
without cooling under the same test conditions (see Table 3). The
thermal efficiency also showed a competitive performance due to
the hot weather conditions during the test (summer-June).
For water desalination systems, Fig. 16 presents a comparison
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al. Energy 254 (2022) 124370

Table 3
comparison of the proposed system performance with other cooling technologies.

Reference PV/T-Cooling Electrical Thermal Electrical efficiency

technology efficiency efficiency improvement rate

[8] Air 11% 77% 13%

[9] water 12% 69% 12%
[40] Nanofluid 12.50% 67% 5%
[11] Heat pump 16.70% 66.98% 9.59%
[12] Heat pipe 12.50% 43.75% 14.20%
[41] PCM 11% 72.60% 12%
Present Present study 11.50% 77.50% 17.5%
study

the working fluid by using nanomaterial and phase-changing ma-

Fig. 14. Improvement percentage of the parameters of the proposed system.
terials of the PV/T collector. Also, the performance of the desali-
nation system can be improved by developing the properties of
sorbent materials.

4. Conclusion

This paper presents an experimental investigation of a new

photovoltaic cooling technique. This technology uses an adsorption
desalination/cooling system combined with a PV/T collector. The
adsorption desalination system is characterized by its ability to
produce desalinated water and the cooling effect simultaneously. In
addition, it is an alternative technology to conventional desalina-
tion systems as it works at low heat sources. The performance
parameters of the HPV/T-ADS are investigated under the hot cli-
matic conditions of Sohag city - Egypt. The performance results of
the proposed system are compared with the performance of both
the desalination system and PV cells separately. The performance of
the proposed system is also compared with the performance of
other solar cell cooling techniques. The following is a summary of
the results of the current study:
Fig. 15. Comparing the performance of the proposed system with the other cooling
technologies.
1 It is found that the average daily electrical and thermal effi-
ciency of the photovoltaic system is 11.5% and 77.5%, respec-
tively, at 1000 W/m2 solar radiation and 45
C ambient
temperature.
2 The SDWP, SCP, and COP of the HPV/T-ADS are 6.31 (m3/tonne-
day), 152.3 (W/m2), and 0.25, respectively.
3 The performance parameters of the HPV/T-ADS (after inte-
grating the PV/T with ADS) improved the performance of both
the desalination system and PV cells before the integration by
17.5% electrical efficiency, 19.69% SDWP, 9.9% COP, and 6.13% SCP.
4 Comparing the performance of HPV/T-ADS with other cooling
techniques showed superiority in the rate of electrical efficiency
improvement, with a competitive thermal efficiency, while the
value of electrical efficiency was relatively acceptable.

These results indicate that this proposed system can be applied

Fig. 16. Comparing the performance of the proposed system with the flat-plate PV/T-
desalination systems.
with desalination systems using RO and solar still, which were
investigated using PV/T collector without concentrations. The
proposed system results showed a relatively acceptable perfor-
mance for the first time investigating the PV/T integrated with
adsorption desalination systems.
In general, despite the acceptable performance shown by the
proposed system, the results indicate that the system still needs
research and development, such as improving the heat transfer of
11
in cooling PV cells with acceptable performance. Considering that
this is the first experimental investigation of PV/T cooled using
adsorption desalination systems, this system still has new research
points that can improve performance, such as investigating the
addition of nanomaterial and phase-changing materials to the
working fluid.
5. Future work
oEvaluating the annual economic cost of the hybrid PV/T-
adsorption desalination system.
oInvestigating the performance of hybrid PV/T-adsorption
desalination system using nanofluid and PCM.
M. Ghazy, E.M.M. Ibrahim, A.S.A. Mohamed et al.
oNumerical simulation of the annual performance of hybrid PV/
T-adsorption desalination system.
Credit author statement
Mohamed ghazy: Experimental Investigation, Formal analysis,
Writing e original draft, Visualization, Writing e review & editing.
E.M.M. Ibrahim: Supervision, Writing e review & editing. A. S. A.
Mohamed: Supervision, Writing e review & editing. Ahmed
Askalany: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Formal
analysis, Writing e review & editing.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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