ORALS

SESSION: AdvancedMaterialsThuPM3-R2	5th Intl. Symp. on New and Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development
Thu Oct, 24 2019 / Room: Leda (99/Mezz. F)
Session Chairs: Anka Trajkovska Petkoska; Ivana Barisic; Session Monitor: TBA

17:50: [AdvancedMaterialsThuPM313]
Improved Efficiency of PVT Collector
Anka Trajkovska Petkoska¹ ; Ilija Nasov² ; ¹Assoc. Prof., Veles, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia); ²CEO PLasma, Skopje, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia);
Paper Id: 293 [Abstract]

The increased concern for global warming, climate changes and rising energy prices has led to a high level of political and social motivation for energy-efficient, eco-friendly and sustainable energy production. Solar energy has the potential to play a leading role in renewable energy solutions. It addresses the energy problem from human health and environmental perspectives to economic perspectives. Moreover, solar energy is capable of satisfying both the electrical and thermal needs of industries and households by means of photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal (ST) technologies respectively or by using hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors. Actually, PVT collectors incorporate both thermal and electrical energy generations that can be used as a cooling system for the PV system in order to enhance the electrical energy efficiency and, at the same time, produce thermal energy that can be used in other applications (e.g. for water heating, space heating, etc.). This integration of PV and thermal collectors does not only enhance PV effectiveness; it also produces more energy for a certain area than a singular PV cell or solar collector alone. The combination of these systems offers few benefits such as: (i) An increase of photovoltaic cell effectiveness (cooling through the solar thermal system), (ii) A reduction in space utilisation (attractive in the case when the available roof surface is limited), (iii) Replacement of the roofing material with the PVT system that can reduce the payback period, (iv) Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by utilisation of renewable energies. PVT collectors have become an important research topic in the last four decades and have attracted many interests. Research on PVT collectors started with the main focus on increasing the PV efficiency. In this work, the authors present a few innovative steps that increase PVT efficiency as well. Namely, low soiling coating on the top cover glass of PVT assembly enables the system to have a clean surface for a longer period of time. It extends the time efficiency of this system because the top glass transmittance is not decreased over a certain time period and consequently, produces more energy compared to PVT systems that do not have such a coating. This protective coating could offer a combination of antireflective, antistatic, anti-corrosion and, in some cases, photocatalytic effects. The second innovation is related to usage of thermal conductive adhesives that bond together the PV module to the ST’s absorber. Namely, the PV backsheet is directly adhered to the Al absorber surface and the heat taken from the PV module is transferred towards the ST absorber. To enhance the heat conductivity in this system, thermally conductive dopants were used. A variety of adhesive systems were investigated and the best one was selected. Finally, ST absorbers’ pipes are protected with inner anti-corrosive coating, so the PVT system could be considered for usage in salty (corrosive) regions or in direct water-circulation systems (e.g. for pool heating). This project is supported by the Fund of innovation and technology development of R. North Macedonia, 2018-2020.

SESSION: AdvancedMaterialsThuPM3-R2	5th Intl. Symp. on New and Advanced Materials and Technologies for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development
Thu Oct, 24 2019 / Room: Leda (99/Mezz. F)
Session Chairs: Anka Trajkovska Petkoska; Ivana Barisic; Session Monitor: TBA

18:15: [AdvancedMaterialsThuPM314]
Agricultural and Industrial Waste Materials as Low-Cost Sorbents for Environmental Pollutants
Anka Trajkovska Petkoska¹ ; Anna Maria Petkoska² ; Andrea Leng³ ; Anita Trajkovska Broach⁴ ; ¹Assoc. Prof., Veles, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia); ²Yahya Kemal High School, Skopje, R. North Macedonia, Skopje, Macedonia; ³Blacksburg High School, Blacksburg, United States; ⁴Scientist/Consultant, CSI: Create. Solve. Innovate. LLC, Blacksburg, United States;
Paper Id: 304 [Abstract]

Landfill sites are on the rise and are competing for a spot on Earth whose population is rapidly growing. The dangerous gasses released from the landfills, in addition to other pollutants in the air and water, are “responsible” for the scary statistics reporting that 3 % of the deaths worldwide are due to drinking polluted water, while 7 million deaths each year are due to the air pollution (WHO, 2013). The PoSH™ (Porous Shells and Husks) project offers a great potential to give a “second chance” to the waste by utilizing it for a good cause and contributing towards a cleaner world. Various types of waste materials disposed from households, restaurants, farms and industries were tested for their efficiency to adsorb environmental pollutants, viz. heavy metals – lead, nickel, zinc, copper and others. These waste materials are collectively referred to as PoSH™ materials here and include such materials as egg shells, peanut husks, rice husks, corn cobs and husks, nut shells, peels and many others. The findings showed that, without any prior treatment, most of the tested waste efficiently adsorbs heavy metals from contaminated water. Most of the agricultural waste adsorbed more than 70% of the present pollutants within an hour of contact with the contaminated water. The effects of contact time, surface area of the adsorbent and concentration of the sorption efficacy of the waste material toward heavy metals were investigated, as well. The project is in progress and it is expected to have a huge impact on increasing public awareness for re-using waste before it is thrown and decomposed in landfills. The project is supported by the Virginia Tech (VT) National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth), a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), which is in turn supported by NSF (ECCS 1542100). The support by CSI: Create. Solve. Innovate. LLC is also appreciated.