Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

A review on the applications of porous materials in solar energy systems MARK

a a,⁎ b
Saman Rashidi , Javad Abolfazli Esfahani , Abbas Rashidi
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 91775-1111, Iran
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460-8077, USA

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: According to energy policies, it is necessary to replace electrical energy or fossil fuels by renewable energy
Porous materials sources. Solar energy systems are recognized as one of these sources. In such systems, high-performance is one
Solar energy of the essential needs. Porous materials have been introduced as one of the most efficient and affordable
Conversion techniques to improve the heat transfer and energy efficiency in solar energy systems. In this review, the
Storage
applications of porous materials and their advantages and limitations on different types of solar energy systems
Efficiency
are summarized. Moreover, the structures of each system with their applications are briefly introduced. Solar
Heat transfer
energy systems covered in this paper contains both energy conversion and energy storage systems.

1. Introduction
Solar energy is one of the permanent sources of energy. All
consumptions of energy by humans during the year can be supplied
by the hourly solar flux incident on the earth's surface with a minimal
environmental impact. Fossil fuel shortage, pollution, and global
climate change crisis in recent years reveal the impact of this type of
energy. The conversion of concentrated solar energy into a sustainable
energy such as thermal energy or electricity is an important factor to
make this energy applicable. Solar systems such as solar collector or
receiver, solar chimney, solar pond, solar still, solar thermal energy
storage, solar heat exchanger, solar heater, etc. are perfect technologies
to convert the solar energy suitable for human consumption. Low
efficiency of solar energy converting or storing systems is a challenge
for designers. Improvement of the efficiency is particularly important
from the viewpoint of energy management for these devices. Some
researchers used different techniques to improve the efficiency of the
solar systems.
Lampert [54] presented advanced optical material coatings for
energy efficiency in solar systems. They suggested some categories such
as large area light guide materials and holographic films for solar
energy applications. Some researchers used nanofluids for different
solar stills. Dhankhar et al. [21] reviewed different losses in solar cells
and discussed how to overcome them in order to improve the efficiency
of solar cells. Gawande et al. [31] reviewed influences of roughness
geometries on heat transfer improvement in solar thermal systems.
They reported that multi V-rib with a gap has a better performance
rather than other roughness geometries for Reynolds numbers in the
range of 2000 and 20,000. Kasaeian et al. [46] reviewed the applica-
tions of nanofluid on different types of solar systems such as solar
collectors, photovoltaic systems, and solar thermoelectrics. They
reported that a high thermal conductivity of nanofluid leads to enhance
the efficiency in solar systems but a higher solid volume fraction does
not always improve the efficiency. Ravi and Saini [73] reviewed
different experimental and theoretical techniques to enhance the
performance of double pass solar air heaters. Their review indicated
that few studies were performed on corrugated or grooved absorbing
surfaces and very few research has been carried out on double pass
systems with artificial roughness.
A usual way to improve the heat transfer characteristics in solar
systems is the use of porous material [71,97]. These materials are
consisted of a solid matrix with inter connected void. Past research
indicates that porous materials exhibit enhanced thermal properties
such as higher convective heat transfer coefficient or thermal con-
ductivity in comparison to the base materials. Rashidi et al. [70]
investigated the fluid flow and forced convection heat transfer around a
solid cylinder coated with a porous layer. They recommended a porous
material with high permeability and high thermal conductivity to
improve the thermal performance. Valipour et al. [113] studied the
effects of magnetic field on the fluid flow and heat transfer near a solid
cylinder covered by a porous ring. They applied the least square
method [114–119] to define two empirical equations for average
Nusselt number that the effects of Darcy number and magnetic field
were considered for these equations.
Generally, porous materials can be used for different targets in solar
energy systems containing adsorption materials, thermal energy sto-

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: samanrashidi3983@gmail.com (S. Rashidi), abolfazl@um.ac.ir (J.A. Esfahani), arashidi@georgiasouthern.edu (A. Rashidi).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.02.028
Received 14 June 2016; Received in revised form 31 December 2016; Accepted 5 February 2017
Available online 14 February 2017
1364-0321/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Rashidi et al.
rage materials, insulation materials, evaporation materials, and heat
transfer augmentation materials. Metallic foams, porous metals, and
hybrid mixture of activated alumina and zeolite 13X can be used as
adsorption materials. M-PCP/Na2SO4 (Molten/Mullite-corundum por-
ous ceramic preform), CaSO4/PSM (Calcium Sulfate/Porous-Resin-
Supported), the impregnation of porous material (expanded perlite
(EP), diatom earth (DE), and gamma-alumina (GA)) with erythritol,
soil, and gravel are suitable for thermal energy storage in solar energy
systems. Moreover, fibrous porous materials, porous ceramics, porous
Silica material, and mineral wool (glass wool, stone wool, and ultimate)
can be used as insulation material in solar energy systems. A porous
material with low total thermal capacity can be used as an evaporation
material in solar systems. Some porous materials with low total
thermal capacity are blackened jute clothes, dark painted sponge,
and hay material. Finally, all porous materials with high thermal
conductivities such as metal foams are suggested as heat transfer
augmentation materials in solar energy systems.
Porous material has opened a new field to help improve the
efficiency of solar systems. However, it is necessary to perform a
review on recent attempts about applications of porous materials in
solar systems to classify them and present some suggestions for future
works. In this paper, previous research on porous material applications
in solar systems have been studied and a review is performed on the
recent achievements. In Section 2, a classification of applications of
porous material in solar energy systems is arranged. Section 3 presents
some conclusions and suggestions for future works based on the
literature review.
2. Applications of porous materials in solar energy systems
2.1. Solar chimneys
Solar chimneys are applied to increase the ventilation of a
residential or commercial structure. In this device, the sun's natural
heat is applied to raise the air in the chimney. This leads to moving the
hot air out of the chimney. Furthermore, this heating causes the cooler
air from below to be pulled into the chimney for heating as the hot air is
released from the top of the chimney. The pulling action of cooler air
leads to air motion and ventilation in the structure [5]. Some
researchers used porous absorbers due to the more interface area
and higher heat transfer coefficients of these materials. These materials
enhance natural ventilation and collect more solar radiation. A sche-
matic diagram of a solar chimney dryer with porous absorber is
disclosed in Fig. 1. This system includes a chimney, a drying chamber,
and a solar collector with porous absorber.
In a numerical work, Ming et al. [60] used porous material as an
energy storage layer in the solar chimney power plant system and they
considered soil as the porous material. The porosity of the layer was
selected as 0.6. They observed that the temperature distributions at the
surface and inside the porous layer varied significantly with different
Fig. 1. A schematic view of solar chimney dryer with porous absorber (Reprinted from
Chen and Qu [17] with permission from the publisher).
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210
solar radiation intensities. Note that the energy storage ratio increases
with an increase in the solar radiation intensity. This leads to an
increase in the surface temperature of the porous layer without notable
change in the superficial conductivity of the porous layer. Zheng et al.
[109] used some porous materials including the soil and gravel as
energy storage materials inside a solar chimney power plant. Their
results indicated that soil and gravel both can be used as energy storage
material for the solar chimney system because they have suitable
thermal inertia. These materials can store more energy on sunny days
due to the high heat capacity. Chen and Qu [17] used the porous
absorber in a solar chimney drying system by numerical simulations.
The schematic view of their solar chimney dryer was discussed earlier.
They observed a higher heat transfer area and heat transfer coefficients
for the case of the porous absorber in comparison to the non-porous
absorber. This leads to an increase in the airflow temperature and
velocity at the outlet of the chimney. The stored energy in the ground,
as a porous medium, during the day can be used to heat the air at night
for solar chimneys. Therefore, it is important to model a solar chimney
with a layer of thermal storage as a porous material. Kumar and
Krishnaveni [47] proposed a system to enhance passive cooling and
natural ventilation in a solar house. Their system included a solar
chimney and an evaporative cooling cavity. They used cellulose as the
cooling pad material in this system to increase the evaporative cooling
performance. Their results indicated that the proposed system can
provide thermal comfort conditions even during the night without solar
radiation. Some researchers applied soil as thermal storage in solar
chimneys [106,107,40,60]. Heisler [34] modelled the airflow through a
solar chimney by computational fluid dynamics. She modelled the
ground by using a thermal storage layer of a porous material with the
same thermal properties as soil. The thermal storage was assumed as a
packed-bed with an average particle diameter of 2 mm and porosity of
25%. She added the passive advections wells to the thermal storage as a
technique to enhance the heat transfer from the ground to the air. After
running this model with thermal storage for a half day, she found that
the heat had not fully diffused from the thermal storage. Guo et al. [32]
performed a thermodynamic analysis on a solar chimney power plant
system and they used soil as the heat storage in this system. Their
results showed that the soil heat storage leads to an evident lag effect
on the energy transferred to the airflow. This means that the power
output received in the afternoon is much higher in comparison to the
morning.
Finally, porous absorber materials such as metallic foams, porous
metals, and hybrid mixture of activated alumina and zeolite 13X can be
used in solar chimneys due to the more interface areas and higher heat
transfer coefficients of these materials. These materials enhance
natural ventilation and collect more solar radiation. As solar chimneys
cannot operate continuously during the night, it is suggested to use
porous materials with larger heat capacities to store more energy
during sunny days. M-PCP/Na2SO4 (Molten/Mullite-corundum porous
ceramic preform), CaSO4/PSM (Calcium Sulfate/Porous-Resin-
Supported), the impregnation of porous material (expanded perlite
(EP), diatom earth (DE), and gamma-alumina (GA)) with erythritol,
soil, and gravel are suitable for thermal energy storage in solar
chimneys.
There are two scenarios as mentioned by Hurtado et al. [40]:
a) If the chimney operates particularly during periods with relevant
solar radiation, a soil type material with high porosity and low
thermal inertia stores a relatively small amount of energy and
consequently, most of the solar radiation will be absorbed by the
working fluid. As a result, the chimney gives higher energy output
during peak hours of irradiation.
b) If the chimney operates continuously during the day and night, a
soil type material with high thermal inertia and compactness and
low thermal diffusivity is recommended. This enhances the energy
released by it during the night.
S. Rashidi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210

Table 1 Al-Nimr and Alkam [7] improved the thermal performance of a

Research on applications of porous materials in solar chimneys. conventional tubeless collector by placing porous layers on the interior
side of the collector absorber plate. They found that the convective heat
Authors Type of Type of porous Spatial
research material dimensions transfer coefficient between the absorber plate and the fluid can be
improved by placing porous layers. The Nusselt number was enhanced
Ming et al. [60] Numerical Soil and gravel 2D up to 25 times by using this technique. Sopian et al. [94] presented
Zheng et al. [109] Numerical Soil and gravel 3D
experimentally the thermal performance of a double-pass solar collec-
Xu et al. [106,107] Numerical Soil 2D
Hurtado et al. [40] Numerical Soil 2D tor with and without porous material. They reported that the efficiency
Chen and Qu [17] Numerical Aluminium and 2D of the double-pass solar collector with porous material is about 20–
Tuff 70% higher than the conventional collector (without porous material).
Heisler [34] Numerical Soil 3D Note that the lower channel of the collector was filled up by steel wool
Kumar and Experimental Cellulose –
as porous material in this research. Alkam and Al-Nimr [6] improved
Krishnaveni
[47] the thermal performance of a tube collector by inserting porous layers
Guo et al. [32] Numerical Soil 1D in the interior walls of the collector. Their results indicated that the
efficiency of the solar collector increased about 15–130% by inserting
porous substrates, especially at high values of the overall loss coeffi-
Table 1 summarizes the research on applications of porous cient. Fend et al. [26] applied various porous materials as open
materials in chimneys. As presented in this table, most of these volumetric solar receivers. They recommended materials based on
research is numerical. Further experimental studies are necessary on ceramic foams or ceramic fabrics due to their large specific surface and
these devices. a reasonable pressure drop characteristic. Some researchers applied
porous walls for solar collectors [24,57,58]. Chen and Liu [15]
2.2. Solar collectors/receivers numerically investigated the heat transfer and air flow in a compo-
site-wall solar-collector system by using a porous absorber. They found
Solar collectors are specific types of heat exchangers capable of that a composite wall with a porous absorber with suitable porosity
converting solar radiant energy into heat for low temperature applica- works better in saving energy in comparison to the Trombe wall during
tions including solar cooling in air conditioning processes, heat for the winter. Becker et al. [11] investigated numerically and theoretically
buildings and water, and some special industrial heating processes like the flow stability in porous materials used as volumetric solar receivers.
drying [25]. The performance of the collector can be improved by They reported that the flow instabilities can be avoided by applying a
decreasing the mean temperature difference between the collector suitable porous material with a high thermal conductivity and a
surface and fluid and heat waste from the collector. This may be quadratic behavior of the pressure drop correlation, like ceramic
achieved by an increase in the heat transfer rate between inner surface foams. Agrafiotis et al. [1] evaluated the potential use of porous silicon
of the collector and fluid. This heat transfer rate can be increased by carbide monolithic honeycombs as a volumetric collector to concen-
increasing the contact surface between the collector and working fluid, trate the solar radiation. They recommend silicon carbide (SiC)-based
and may be achieved by using porous materials at the inner surface of ceramics for high-temperature applications such as exploitation of
the collector. It is worth mentioning that the porous materials enhance solar energy. The naturally black colour of this material coupled with
the heat transfer rate by enhancing the effective fluid thermal its high thermal conductivity leads to a better collection of solar heat.
conductivity, providing more mixing between the fluid and collector Reddy et al. [74] used various porous receiver geometries (longitudinal
surface, and decreasing thermal resistance by developing a thinner solid fin, longitudinal porous fins, and intermittent porous fins) in a
hydrodynamic boundary layer. A view of a double-pass thermal solar solar parabolic trough collector. They reported a 17.5% increase in the
collector with porous material in the second channel is disclosed in heat transfer by including the porous inserts in tubular receivers. Chen
Fig. 2. [94]. et al. [18] used an aluminium foam porous structure filled with paraffin
Lansin et al. [49] used a porous matrix inside a flat-plate solar inside a solar flat-plate collector. They reported that the heat transfer
collector to extract an efficient amount of heat from an energy performance improved considerably by using aluminium foams in the
absorbing solid. They observed a considerable improvement in perfor- paraffin. Moreover, the temperature distribution in paraffin with
mance by using porous materials inside the flat plate collector in aluminium foams was more uniform rather than the paraffin without
comparison to non-porous types for the same conditions. The percen- aluminium foams. Xu et al. [106,107] developed the steady mass and
tage improvement was about 102% in comparison to non-porous types. heat transfer models of a porous solar receiver. They observed that

Fig. 2. A view of a double-pass thermal solar collector with porous material in the second channel. (Reprinted from Sopian et al. [94] with permission from the publisher).

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 S. Rashidi et al.

Table 2
Research on applications of porous materials in solar collector.

Authors Type of collector/receiver Type of research Type of porous material Spatial dimensions

Lansing et al. [49] Flat plate collector Experimental/Analytical Metal wools 1D for analytical part
Al-Nimrand Alkam (1989) Tubeless flat plate collector Numerical Thermal conductivity ratio equal to 20 2D
Du and Bilgen [24] Composite Trombe wall collectors Numerical Not mentioned 2D
Sopian et al. [94] Double-pass collector Experimental Steel wool –
Mbaye and Bilgen (1993a) Porous wall collector without vents Numerical Dimensionless conductivity ratios of 0.1 and 20 (the ratio of solid thermal conductivity to porous one) 2D
Mbaye and Bilgen (1993b) Composite wall collector Numerical Dimensionless conductivity ratios of 1 and 10 (the ratio of solid thermal conductivity to porous one) 2D
Alkam and Al-Nimr [6] Tube collector Numerical Thermal conductivity ratio equal to 78.13 3D
Fend et al. [26] Open volumetric receiver Experimental IKTS foam ceramics, SiC fibre mesh, Ceramic (SiC) catalyst carriers, and Metallic catalyst carriers –
Chen and Liu [15] Composite-wall solar-collector Numerical Quartzite 2D
Becker et al. [11] Volumetric solar receiver Analytical/Numerical Ceramic foam materials 3D
Agrafiotis et al. [1] Non mentioned Experimental Silicon carbide (SiC)-based ceramics –
Reddy et al. [74] Solar parabolic trough collector Numerical Porous find made of Stainless steel 3D
Chen et al. [18] Flat plate collector Numerical Aluminium foams 2D

1201
Xu et al. [106,107] Solar tower receiver Numerical Foam ceramic 2D
Hirasawa et al. [38] Flat plate collector Experimental A series of offset wire screens made of fine nylon fishing lines of 0.05 mm in diameter with 2-mm pitch and a porosity –
of 0.999
Baskar et al. [9] Solar parabolic trough collector Numerical Porous disc receiver 3D
Wang et al. [100] solar dish collector Numerical Silicon ceramic (SiC) 3D
Lim et al. [52] Tubular collector Experimental/Numerical Metal foam 3D for numerical part
Fuqiang et al. [27] Parabolic solar dishcollector Numerical Silicon ceramic (SiC) 2D
Fuqiang et al. [28] Parabolic solar dishcollector Numerical Silicon ceramic (SiC) 2D
Fuqiang et al. [29] Parabolic solar dishcollector Numerical Silicon ceramic (SiC) 2D
Lee et al. [50] Central particle-heating receiver Numerical Metallic porous blocks 2D
Reddy et al. [75] Solar parabolic trough collector Experimental Porous disc receiver –
Zheng et al. [110,111] Solar central receiver tube Numerical Metal foam 3D
Dissa et al. [23] Flat plate solar collector Experimental/Numerical Aluminium with porosity of 0.9655 1D for numerical part
Zhao and Tang [108] Not mentioned Numerical Silicon carbide 3D
Fuqiang et al. [30] Parabolic solar dish collector Numerical different solid-phase thermal conductivities (40, 80, 120 W/(m K)) 2D
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210
S. Rashidi et al.
applying a porous material with high porosity leads to a decrease in the
solid matrix dimensionless temperature, an increase in the air dimen-
sionless temperature, and a decrease in the dimensionless temperature
difference between solid matrix and passing air. Hirasawa et al. [38]
reduced the heat loss from the solar thermal collector by using a high-
porosity porous medium. Note that the natural convection may be
reduced in a porous medium. They observed a 7% reduction rate of
natural convection heat loss by using the high-porosity porous medium
above the collector plate. Baskar et al. [9] applied a porous disc receiver
in parabolic trough concentrator to enhance the heat transfer. They
observed a 70% increase in the Nusselt number for the receiver in
comparison to the tubular receiver. Finally, their results indicated that
the insert of a porous medium in a tubular receiver leads to a
considerable increase in the system performance. Wang et al. [100]
performed a thermal performance analysis of porous media receiver,
which was installed on the focus plane of a solar dish collector. They
used both the Monte Carlo Ray Tracing (MCRT) method and FLUENT
software in this problem. They reported that the radiation heat loss on
the fluid inlet surface should be considered during the thermal
performance analysis of a porous media receiver. In another research,
Fuqiang et al. [27] performed a thermal performance analysis for a
porous solar receiver with quartz window by using the Monte Carlo Ray
Tracing (MCRT) method. They found that the solid phase temperature
rises with an increase in porosity of porous material. Fuqiang et al. [28]
repeated this problem for a solar receiver with different irradiative
transfer models (P1 and Rosseland models). They observed a max-
imum temperature difference of 4.97% between the two models. Lim
et al. [52] presented an optimized design for a tubular solar collector
with porous medium. They observed that the maximum temperature of
the collector mainly depended on the porosity and thermal conductivity
of the porous material. Moreover, their results showed that porous
material leads to an increase in the contact area between air and solid,
and subsequently an enhancement the in system efficiency. Reddy et al.
[75] used porous disc receiver for solar parabolic trough collector in an
experimental work. This study tested six different receiver configura-
tions: the alternative porous disc receiver, bottom porous disc receiver,
inclined bottom porous disc receiver, shield tubular receiver, U-shaped
bottom porous disc receiver, and un-shielded tubular receiver. Their
results showed that the thermal gradient between the fluid and receiver
surface was less in the case of porous disc enhanced receiver in
comparison to the conventional tubular receiver. They found that the
performance of the parabolic trough collector with alternative porous
disc receiver was better than the other receiver configurations. [110,111]
presented numerically the increase of convection heat transfer in a solar
central receiver tube by using porous material. They reported that the
receiver tube partially filled with porous material has better heat transfer
performance in comparison to the fully filled with porous material. Lee
et al. [50] numerically simulated the particulate flow in interconnected
porous media for central particle-heating receiver applications. They
observed that the porous medium decreases the speed of the falling
particulate material and enhances its residence time within the receiver.
Dissa et al. [23] performed an experimental study on a solar air collector
with a composite absorber made of porous and non-porous absorbers.
Note that two absorbers are coupled. Non-porous and porous absorbers
are made of a corrugated iron sheet and a mesh of aluminium,
respectively. They estimated the collector overall thermal efficiency is
about 61% at solar midday. Zhao and Tang [108] computed the radiative
heat transfer of silicon carbide porous media utilized in the solar receiver
by a Monte Carlo study. They presented an extinction coefficient
correlation for predicting the extinction coefficient of SiC porous
material for different values of pore size and porosity. Fuqiang et al.
[30] presented a transient thermal performance model for a porous
receiver heated by a multi-dish concentrator. They applied a combina-
tion of the Monte Carlo Ray Tracing and finite volume methods. They
stated that the porous receiver with high thermal conductivity can
benefit from the dispersion of concentrated energy.
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210
Table 2 summarizes the research on applications of porous
materials in solar collector. As mentioned by researchers, typical
thermal efficiency of the solar collector can be enhanced up to 60–
70% by using porous materials.
Generally, various porous absorber materials such as metallic
foams, porous metals, and hybrid mixture of activated alumina and
zeolite 13X can be used in solar collectors to achieve efficient heat
extraction from the sun. The non-uniform heat flux is a key factor when
the heat transfer improvement for the receiver is investigated.
However, most of the heat transfer improvement techniques for
receivers with non-uniform heat flux are proposed for solar parabolic
trough systems. For other receivers, more studies are needed. Monte
Carlo Ray Tracing method can be utilized as a very powerful technique
to solve the problems of heat flux distribution on the fluid inlet surface
of a porous media solar concentrator and receiver system.
2.3. Solar heat exchangers/heaters
Heat exchangers or heaters are equipment utilized to transfer heat
between one or more fluids. These devises are widely applied in
refrigeration systems, power stations, natural-gas processing, chemical
and petrochemical plants, space heating, air conditioning, etc. These
devices play a significant role in saving and utilizing high-efficiency
energy. Solar heat exchangers are the conversion of sunlight into
renewable energy for heating. Some researchers used porous materials
in such devices to improve their efficiency. A schematic view of a linear
concentrating solar air heater is disclosed in Fig. 3. It can be seen that a
black glass tube plays the role of receiver, which collects the sunlight.
The parabolic profile leads to concentrate the beam radiation onto a
glass receiver. A portion of this radiation attracts to the black surface of
the receiver and others trapped in the porous absorber. The receiver is
covered by a glass envelope in order to minimize the heat loss.
Singh and Bansal [79] used broken glass pieces in a solar air
heater. In their numerical study, they considered three typical cases
including top surface blackened, all glass pieces blackened, and
bottom surface blackened. They found that porous air heaters always
give better efficiency than the nonporous one. Naphon [64] investi-
gated mathematically the effects of porous materials on the efficiency
of the double-pass flat plate solar air heater. This research showed
that the solar air heater enhanced by the porous materials gives 25.9%
higher thermal efficiency than that empty one. Furthermore, the
thermal conductivity of porous materials has a key role on the thermal
performance of the solar air heater. Bayrak et al. [10] used the porous
baffles with different thicknesses inside solar air heaters. They
performed both energy and exergy analyses for their experiments.
They used closed-cell aluminium foams as porous materials with
Fig. 3. A schematic view of concentrated solar air-heaters filled with a porous material.
(Reprinted from Tajik Jamal-Abad et al. [96] with permission from the publisher).
S. Rashidi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210

thicknesses of 6 mm and 10 mm and a total surface area of 50 cm2.
They observed that the largest irreversibility occurred for the non-
baffle case. Also, the efficiency of the heater increases as the porous
baffle thickness increases. In an experimental work, Pradhapraj and
Velmurugan [69] used charcoal porous medium in a solar air heater to
improve the performance. They showed that the thermal efficiency of
the system increases up to 30% by using porous medium. Dehghan
et al. [20] used Homotopy perturbation and numerical (based on the
finite difference method) methods to investigate the convection-
radiation heat transfer in a plate solar heat exchanger filled with a
porous medium. They used the Darcy-Brinkman equation to model
the flow through the porous medium. They modelled the radiative
heat transfer similar to a diffusion process by introducing the
radiation conductivity. They found that the Nusselt number increases
with an increase in the porous media shape parameter. The porous
media shape parameter is defined as the ratio of Darcy number to
porosity of medium. This means that the overall heat transfer will be
enhanced if the flow is more uniformed along the cross-sectional area
of the heat exchanger. In another research, Ahmad Soltani et al. [2]
repeated this problem by exact and shooting homotopy analysis
solution. Tajik Jamal-Abad et al. [96] analytically investigated the
heat transfer in concentrated solar air-heaters filled with a porous
material. They used approximate analytical solutions with a perturba-
tion analysis. They observed that the overall heat transfer rises as the
increase in the porous media shape parameter occurs. Furthermore,
they found that the heat removal factor of the heater also increases as
the porous media shape increases. The heat removal factor is defined
as the ratio of the actual heat transfer to the maximum heat transfer.
Maximum heat transfer occurs during minimum heat loss in the
surrounding. Bovand et al. [12] performed a numerical study on the
fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics within a porous solar
heater. They investigated the impacts of porous material on the heat
transfer enhancement and pressure drop in the porous solar heater.
The heater in their studies was partially filled by porous materials.
Their results indicated that the Nusselt number increases by increas-
ing the porous layer thicknesses (δ) for higher values of Darcy number
(Da). These enhancements were up to 3, 4.4 and 5.9 times for δ=1/3,
2/3 and 1, respectively at Da=10−2. Besides these advantages of
porous material in a solar heater, they observed a high pressure drop
for the porous layer in low Darcy numbers. This leads to consume
more pumping work in heaters. They recommend a porous layer with
high permeability for solar heaters. This layer has a great effect on the
heat transfer effects with a reasonable pressure drop. In another
research, Rashidi et al. [72] performed a sensitivity analysis for a
porous solar heat exchanger to calculate the effects of porous material
on the heat transfer rate and the pressure drop. They showed that the
sensitivities of pressure drop ratio and Nusselt number to the Darcy
number escalates with an increase in the porous substrate thickness.
Some researchers used packing bed in solar heaters [61]. Aldabbagh
et al. [3] applied wire mesh as packing bed in single and double pass
solar air heaters. They observed a considerable improvement in the
thermal efficiency for a packed bed heater in comparison to the
conventional one. Dhiman and Singh [22] presented an analytical model
for packed bed solar air heaters. They found that the difference between
the thermal and thermo-hydraulic efficiencies of present models is up to
0.5–1.4%. This is good from an economical point of view as this
difference is small. Lalji et al. [48] performed an exergy analysis on
packed bed solar air heater. Their results indicated that the exergy loss
decreases as the porosity of the system decreases. This is due to higher
heat transfer coefficient that causes a small loss to the atmosphere.
Finally, porous materials with high thermal conductivity and
porosity such as metal foams are recommended to improve the thermal
performance of solar heat exchangers or solar heaters.
Table 3 summarizes the research on applications of porous
materials in solar heat exchanges or solar heaters. As presented in
this table, most of the research used air as a working fluid. Further
studies on the water or other fluids are necessary for these devices.
There are some performance evaluation criteria that are applicable to
heat exchangers [104]. These criteria assess the performance advan-
tages offered by heat transfer enhancement techniques. It is clear that
some of the heat transfer enhancement techniques have a pressure
drop penalty. These criteria determine that the insert of porous layer
inside the channel is suitable in terms of heat transfer enhancement
and pressure drop, or is not suitable. It is good to use these criteria for
future studies in this field.
2.4. Solar ponds
Solar ponds are pools of saltwater, which can be used to store and
collect the solar thermal energy. They consist of three layer structures:
upper convective zone (UCZ), a lower convective zone (LCZ), and a
non-convective gradient zone (NCZ) that separates UCZ and LCZ (Hill
and Carr [36,37]). The solar radiation must pass through the UCZ and
NCZ to reach the LCZ. The upper convective zone has a low salt
concentration with a temperature close to atmospheric temperature. In
the lower convective zone, the salt concentration is close to saturation
and the temperature is high. The heat stored by the lower convective
zone can be applied for desalination, electricity generation, greenhouse
heating, space heating, etc. [76]. A porous region in LCZ affects the
stability of the pond and heat loss at the base of the pond. The structure
of a solar pond with porous material inside the lower convective zone
(LCZ) is disclosed in Fig. 4.

Table 3
Research on applications of porous materials in solar heat exchanges or solar heaters.

Authors Type of research Type of fluid Type of device Type of porous material Spatial dimensions

Singh and Bansal [79] Numerical Air Flat plate solar heater Broken glass pieces 2D
Naphon (1999) Numerical Air Double-pass flat plate solar Variable thermal conductivity of porous 2D
heater (10–20 W/m °C)
Mittal and Varshney [61] Numerical Air Flat plate solar heater Wire screen matrices as packing bed 2D
Aldabbagh et al. [3] Experimental Air Single and double pass solar Wire mesh as packing bed –
heaters
Lalji et al. [48] Experimental Air A duct shape heater Several layers of wire mesh screen –
Bayrak et al. [10] Experimental Air Flat plate solar heater Closed-cell aluminium foams with a porosity –
of 85%
Pradhapraj and Velmurugan Experimental Air heater charcoal –
[69]
Dehghan et al. [20] Numerical Not mentioned Flat plate solar heat exchanger Not mentioned 2D
Rashidi et al. [72] Numerical Water Flat plate solar heat exchanger Thermal conductivity ratio equal to 5 2D
Dhiman and Singh [22] Analytically Air Double pass solar heater Wire as a packed bed material 1D
Bovand et al. [12] Numerical Water Flat plate solar heat exchanger Thermal conductivity ratio equal to 5 2D
Tajik Jamal-Abad et al. [96] Numerical Air Concentrated solar air-heaters Not mentioned 2D
Ahmad Soltani et al. [2] Numerical Not mentioned Flat plate solar heat exchanger Not mentioned 2D

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S. Rashidi et al.
Fig. 4. Structure of a solar pond with porous material inside the lower convective zone
(LCZ) (Reprinted from Hill and Carr [36,37] with permission from the publisher).
Hadim and Burmeister [33] analytically presented a conceptual
design for a downward-convecting solar pond filled with a porous
material. Al-Juwayhel and El-Refaee [4] numerically investigated the
thermal performance of a combined packed bed-solar pond system.
They reported that the rock beds with porosity in the range of 20–30%
have higher maximum storage temperatures in comparison to the
porosity in the range of 40–50%. Moreover, they found that a decrease
in the rock-bed porosity from 30% to 20% leads to an incremental
enhance in the storage temperature of about 3.5%. However, this
incremental increase is reduced up to 1.8% and 2.7% when the porosity
is decreased from 50% to 40% and from 40% to 30%, respectively. Silva
and Almanza [78] used clay as liners in solar ponds.
They reduced the cost of construction and the risk of contamination
of subsoil and groundwater by this technique. Choubani et al. [19]
investigated experimentally stability of solar pond with porous materi-
als. They found that porous material decreases the temperature
differences in the solar pond, which causes the instability. Note that
the ability of a solar pond in absorbing energy is depended on the
stability of the gradient zone. In salinity gradient solar ponds, there is a
salinity gradient in the vertical direction. The salinity increases with
depth. Salinity is the stabilizing property as it helps the density to
increase in the downward direction. At the same time, the bottom of
the pond has the highest temperature caused by absorption of solar
radiation. The temperature decreases by approaching the surface. As
the temperature rises, it is accompanied by a decrease in the density,
therefore, causing this property to have a destabilizing role. A stable
pond is the one in which the stabilizing element (salinity gradient)
overcomes the destabilizing element (temperature gradient) resulting
in the overall density to increase. Accordingly, it is significant to
maintain salt gradient during the operation of a solar pond, which
needs an amount of salt. Novo et al. [67] performed a review study on
underground thermal energy storage for solar energy applications and
includes the water tanks and gravel–water pits. They reported that the
costs of specific hot-water storage in large tanks are rather high. To
avoid the costly water tank construction, gravel–water heat storage can
be an option to drop costs because the structural frame is not necessary
for this system. Shi et al. [76] investigated the effects of porous material
Table 4
Research on applications of porous materials in solar ponds.
Authors Type of research
Hadim and Burmeister [33] Analytically
Al-Juwayhel and El-Refaee [4] Numerical
Silva and Almanza [78] Experimental
Choubani et al. [19] Experimental
Shi et al. [76] Experimental
[36,37] Numerical
Wang et al. [101,102] Experimental/ Theoretical
Wang et al. [103] Experimental
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210
on thermal and salt diffusion of a solar pond. They found that the heat
insulation effects increase by addition of porous material to the bottom
of a solar pond. Moreover, they reported that the porous material can
significantly enhance LCZ temperature and total heat storage quantity
of the solar pond. [36,37] investigated the effect of porous materials on
the instability of a solar pond and reported that the temperature of the
lower convective zone increases by the penetration of a porous medium
into the NCZ zone. Wang et al. [101,102] added coal cinder to the
bottom of the salt gradient solar pond and observed an increase in LCZ
temperature by using coal cinder at the bottom of the salt gradient
solar pond. They found coal cinder as a cheap material with perfect
thermal performance. Wang et al. [103] studied the effect of porous
medium on salt diffusion of salt gradient solar pond. Their results
indicated that the porous material delays the salt diffusion upward and
that it was due to the absorption effect of porous material on the salt.
Furthermore, they stated that the salt diffuses slower for a porous
medium with lower porosity.
Finally, porous material acts as a heat insulator and thus leads to an
increase in lower convective zone temperature or total heat storage
quantity in solar ponds. Accordingly, porous insulation and thermal
energy storage materials can be nominated for applications in solar
ponds. The addition of porous material causes a slowdown of the
upward diffusion of the salt. Accordingly, the insert of porous material
leads to saving the cost of salt applied to keep high concentration in
lower convective zone of a solar pond since the salt upward diffusion is
decreased. Affordable porous materials such as pebble and slag can be
used to achieve this purpose. Table 4 summarizes the research on
applications of porous materials in solar ponds. It can be seen that
most of the previous numerical works used a one-dimensional
approach. However, this approach is applied only when modelling
highly porous materials. One critical issue in the design of solar ponds
is what materials to apply for the liner. It is important to study the
physical–chemical aspects of porous materials in order to overcome the
drawbacks and make them more proper as lining materials.
2.5. Solar stills
Solar stills are common devices to distil water by the heat of the
sun. Impure water is inserted into the basin of the still, where the sun
through glass cover evaporates it. The pure water vapour condenses
inside the glass cover and slides down the side where it is collected.
Sivakumar and GanapathySundaram [90] reviewed different passive
and active techniques that have been utilized to improve solar stills
performances. Recently, some researchers applied a porous evaporator
or porous absorber inside the stills as a passive technique to improve
the efficiency of stills. A modified still by porous absorber is disclosed in
Fig. 5. This plan of still is presented by Srivastava and Agrawal (2013).
In this plan, the blackened jute clothes as porous absorbers float with
the help of thermocol pieces in basin water of still. It is better to use a
porous evaporator with low total thermal capacity in solar stills. This
means that the porous material has less mass and lower specific heat
capacity. Some porous materials with low total thermal capacity are
blackened jute clothes, dark painted sponge, and hay material. A
Type of porous material Spatial dimensions
Fiberglass 1D
Rock bed 1D
Clays –
Spherical-plastic-balls –
Pebble and slag –
Note mentioned 2D
Coal cinder 1D for theoretical part
Slag –
S. Rashidi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210

Fig. 5. A schematic view of a modified solar still consisting of multiple low thermal
inertia floating porous absorbers (Reprinted from Srivastava and Agrawal [91,92] with
permission from the publisher).
porous material with low total thermal capacity has two advantages:
first, it has a very large effective surface to volume ratio that leads to
enhance the evaporation rate from the evaporator; and second, most of
the absorbed heat by radiation will be used to evaporate water due to
the low thermal capacity of the porous evaporator (Al-Nimr and
Dahdolan [8]).
Madani and Zaki [55] performed an experimental study and used
soot (carbon powder 40–50 µm size particles) inside the basin of the
still. It should be stated that the soot particles float on the water surface
at the first filling then settles. These particles act as a black porous solar
absorber. They recommend this technique as an economical method
since the soot can be obtained free of charge from oil-fired power
plants. Furthermore, the soot can act as insulation in the basin. Higazy
[35] used a floating sponge in solar still and investigated the effects of
porosity of sponge on the productivity of still. The porosity of 0.92 is
selected as the optimum sponge porosity for the highest still produc-
tivity. Srivastava and Agrawal [91] performed experimental and
theoretical analyses on a solar still consisting of multiple low thermal
inertia floating porous absorbers (blackened jute clothes). They ob-
served about 68% more distillate output for clear days by using porous
absorbers, while it was nearly 35% more for cloudy days. In another
research, Srivastava and Agrawal [93] performed an economic analysis
on this problem. They reported that the modified still by porous
material is very economical and cost effective with minimum main-
tenance and zero energy cost option. Srivastava and Agrawal [92] used
extended porous fins inside the solar still. Porous fins made up of
blackened old cotton rags were dipped partially inside the basin of the
still. They reported 56% higher day time distillate and 48% higher for
24 h duration than conventional still in the month of February. These
values were 23% and 15%, respectively for the month of May.
Malaiyappanand Elumalai [56] used different porous materials in a
solar still. The materials in their experiment were pebble pieces, black
granite pieces, and a black granite slab. They reported that the black
granite slab has the highest productivity among other materials.
Moreover, they observed that the productivity of the solar still
increased by using porous material inside the still. Horri et al. [39]
used floating light-absorbing porous material (Carbon-Fe3O4 particles)
in an experimental work. Their results indicated that the evaporation
rate can be increased in the vicinity of 1.8, 2 and 2.3 by applying 0.015,
0.023 and 0.045 g of the light-absorbing material, respectively.
Mohamed et al. [62] investigated the influence of sieved sand thickness
on solar still productivity. They observed that the temperature differ-
ence in the porous bed increased as the porous medium thickness
increased. Al-Nimr and Dahdolan [8] presented a novel mathematical
model for a concentrated solar still enhanced with a porous evaporator.
Their still consisted of a parabolic mirror to concentrate the solar
radiation on a tubular still placed at the focus of the parabola. A cold
pipe in the center of the still was used to condense the vapour. This
pipe was attached to the same finned tank containing the impure water.
They suggested a porous evaporator with dark painted sponge or hay
material to improve the efficiency of their still.
Finally, the porous materials can be used as the absorber in the
solar stills to improve the efficiency. These materials have potential
prospects in the field of seawater desalination plant especially for
remote areas, which are located around the ocean. It was better to use a
porous evaporator with low total thermal capacity in solar stills. Table 5
summarizes the research on applications of porous materials in solar
stills. It can be seen that most of the research performed for this system
are experimental. Further numerical studies are necessary on this
system, as the construction of experimental facilities is difficult,
expensive and time consuming. Also, changing parameters such as
type of materials or porosity of medium is easy by using numerical
methods. Moreover, applications of porous material in tubular type
solar stills has the potential for future research.

Table 5
Research on application of porous materials in solar stills.

Authors Type of research Type of still Type of porous material Spatial dimensions

Madani and Zaki [55] Experimental Double slope Soot (carbon powder 40–50 µm size particles) –
Higazy [35] Experimental Double slope Floating sponge –
Srivastava and Agrawal [91] Experimental and theoretical Single slope Blackened jute clothes –
Srivastava and Agrawal [92] Experimental and theoretical Single slope Porous fins made up of blackened old cotton rags –
Malaiyappan and Elumalai [56] Experimental Single slope Pebbles pieces, black granite pieces, and black granite slab –
Horri et al. [39] Experimental Cavity shape Floating light-absorbing porous material (Carbon-Fe3O4 –
particles)
Mohamed et al. [62] Experimental Double slope Sieved sand –
Al-Nimr and Dahdolan [8] Mathematically Concentrated solar still Dark painted sponge or hay material 3D

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S. Rashidi et al.
Fig. 6. Carbon fibers used in the thermal storage tanks to enhance heat transfer: (a) fibre cloth, (b) fibre brush, (c) no carbon fibre, (d) fibre cloth of 142 g/m2 and (e) fibre cloth of
304 g/m2 (Reprinted from Nakaso et al. [63] with permission from the publisher).
2.6. Thermal energy storage
A defect of solar energy is its unavailability to meet continuous
request. Developing the technologies to store the thermal energy that is
available during sunny days can be used to overcome this challenge.
Therefore, storage media is an important part of the solar systems.
Thermal energy can be stored in the form of chemical and physical
potential through chemical and physical adsorption in materials. This
leads to provide high-energy storage density. Storage medium should
operate at high temperatures and it is better to have a high thermal
conductivity [46]. Na-K eutectics and alkali metal salts eutectics are
some materials used in high thermal-energy storage [77]. Generally,
these materials have poor thermo-physical characteristics [43]. As a
result, the efficiency of such a system can be improved with an increase
in the thermal conductivity, thermal adsorption, specific heat capacity
of the storage medium and the operating temperature of this medium
[46]. Materials with hierarchical porosity and structures have been
used in recently developed energy conversion and storage systems.
Carbon fibers that were used by Nakaso et al. [63] in a thermal storage
system to enhance heat transfer are disclosed in Fig. 6.
Mesalhy et al. [59] used porous matrix with high thermal conductivity
in phase change material (PCM) storage to enhance the energy storage
performance of PCM. They recommended a porous matrix with high
porosity and high thermal conductivity as the best technique to increase
the response of the PCM storage. In another experimental research,
Nomura et al. [66] impregnated the porous material with phase change
material in a thermal energy storage to recover the waste heat in the form
of latent heat. They considered erythritol as PCM and used expanded
perlite, Diatom earth, and Gamma-alumina as porous materials. They
showed that the latent heat of the expanded perlite/erythritol composite
increased about 83% of the theoretical latent heat of pure erythritol. Wu
and Zhao [105] experimentally used porous materials in high temperature
thermal energy storage systems. Note that high temperature thermal
energy storage systems store the thermal energy at high temperatures
(3150-3500C). Their results indicated that the heat transfer rate could be
increased through the addition of the porous materials by 2.5 times in
comparison to without porous materials. They used metal foams such as
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210
copper, steel alloy, and steel alloy with porosities of 0.9 and 0.95 as porous
material. Li et al. [51] summarized the porous materials and their
potential applications in energy storage and conversion systems.
Jänchen and Stach [41] investigated the adsorption properties of porous
materials for solar thermal energy storage and suggested a modified
porous sorbents with medium hydrophilic character for solar thermal
energy storage. Cai et al. [13] and Cai et al. [14] prepared electrospun
ultrafine composite fibers for storage and retrieval of solar thermal energy.
Pal et al. [68] presented a numerical model for adsorption and desorption
of moisture in porous materials based energy release/storage processes.
The objective of this research was to capture the energy storage and
release that can possibly be attributed to adsorption and desorption of
moisture in porous materials. Due to the simplicity, this model can be
applied in thermal energy storage applications. Janchen and Stach [42]
investigated the properties of modified porous absorbers as water
adsorption for solar thermal energy storage and heat transformation.
They reported that the water adsorption properties of porous materials
depend on the chemical composition of the framework, pore structure,
and the pore architecture of these materials. Liu et al. [53] impregnated
the porous mullite with Na2SO4 phase change material to improve the
heat storage properties of thermal energy storage. Their results indicated
that an increase in the porosity and decrease in the average pore size in
the porous mullite matrix leads to a higher heat storage density of the
composites, which is essential for thermal energy storage systems. Su and
Davidson [95] numerically modelled 240-tube bundle heat exchangers in
a solar storage tank. They developed a Lattice Boltzmann Method and
used both direct and porous medium model simulations. They showed
that the macroscopic heat transfer enhances with an increase in pitch or
porosity. Note that the pitch indicates the center-to-center distance
between tubes.
Finally, the properties of porous materials in thermal energy storage
can be used to store the thermal energy during sunny days. Generally,
porous materials with larger heat capacities and suitable values of the
property of thermal inertia are adopted for thermal energy storage in
solar systems. Impregnation of porous materials with phase change
materials can be used to store the thermal energy. This technique
efficiently recovers waste heat in the form of latent heat. For example,
S. Rashidi et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1198–1210

Table 6
Research on applications of porous materials in thermal energy storage systems.

Authors Type of research Type of porous material Spatial dimensions

Mesalhy et al. [59] Numerical Porous matrix with thermal conductivity ratios (the ratio of thermal conductivity of porous material 2D
to fluid one) of 50–200
Nomura et al. [66] Experimental Expanded perlite, Diatom earth, and Gamma-alumina –
Wu and Zhao [105] Experimental Metal foams include the Copper, Steel alloy, and Steel alloy –
Jänchen and Stach [41] Experimental Different porous sorbents with medium hydrophilic character –
Cai et al. [13] Experimental Electrospun ultrafine composite fibers –
Cai et al. [14] Experimental Electrospun ultrafine composite fibers –
Pal et al. [68] Numerical AA13X, which is a hybrid mixture of activated alumina and zeolite 13X 3D
Jänchen and Stach (2014) Experimental Zeolite –
Liu et al. [53] Experimental Porous mullite –
Su and Davidson [95] Numerical 240 cylindrical tubes bounded and immersed in a rectangular enclosure 2D

impregnation of porous material such as expanded perlite (EP), diatom
earth (DE), and gamma-alumina (GA) with erythritol as a phase change
material is a promising technique to conserve latent heat with high
thermal storage density [112]. The combination of materials can be
useful to improve the properties of single materials in thermal energy
storage. Table 6 summarizes the research on applications of porous
materials in thermal energy storage systems. The applications of phase
change materials in thermal energy storage systems are limited due to
their relatively low thermal conductivities. Porous materials have a
significant effect on enhancing the phase change materials’ thermal
conductivities. Most of research performed in this field are for low
temperatures thermal energy storage systems. However, more research
is needed for high temperature thermal energy storage systems.
2.7. Other solar systems
Chen and Liu [16] numerically investigated the heat transfer in the
composite solar wall with the porous absorber. Their results indicated
that the thermal resistance of the composite wall enhances at night or
on a cloudy day by using a convective porous absorber inside the
composite wall. Villafán-Vidales et al. [98] simulated a thermochemical
solar reactor based on a volumetric porous receiver. Their reactor
consisted of a horizontal cylindrical chamber with porous ceramic
structure. Their results showed that the temperature distribution inside
the reactor is mainly affected by the porosity of the ceramic.
Kandasamy et al. [44,45] analyzed the unsteady Hiemenz nanofluid
flow past a porous wedge due to solar energy (incident radiation) as a
solar power plant. They used porous material as a volumetric receiver
to enhance the performance because solar radiation can be transferred
into a fluid medium and this leads to a decrease in the concentrated
heat on the surface. Wang et al. [101,102] used porous material in a
solar thermochemical reactor. They simulated the porous medium by
the local non-thermal equilibrium (LNTE) model. They found that the
generated H2 mole fraction decreases with the increase in the porosity.
Table 7 summarizes the research on applications of porous materials in
other solar systems.
3. Concluding remarks and directions for future work
In this research, an attempt has been made to review the applica-
tions of porous materials in solar energy systems. The paper covered
both energy conversion and energy storage systems. Some of the
applications of each solar energy system are summarized in Table 8.
Furthermore, the following conclusions were achieved:
• In summary, the insert of porous material inside a solar system is a
simple modification without energy consumption for improving the
efficiency of the system.
• Silicon carbide porous material is a prospective absorber material
for heat transfer improvement in solar energy systems due to large
specific surface areas and an excellent temperature tolerance. Strong
strength, high thermal shock resistance, and high anti-oxygenic
properties are other advantages of this material.
• It is better to use a porous evaporator with low total thermal
capacity and capillary effect such as dark painted sponge, cotton
cloth, and hay in solar stills.
• A porous material with high thermal conductivity and porosity is
applicable for solar heat exchangers or solar heaters to improve the
heat transfer rate with a reasonable pressure drop.
• As solar chimneys cannot operate continuously during the night, it is
suggested to use porous materials with larger heat capacities to store
more energy during sunny days. There are two scenarios as
mentioned by Hurtado et al. [40]:
1. If the chimney operates particularly during periods with relevant
solar radiation, a soil type material with high porosity (low thermal
diffusivity) and low thermal inertia stores a relatively small amount
of energy and consequently, most of the solar radiation will be
absorbed by the working fluid. As a result, the chimney gives higher
energy output during peak hours of irradiation.
2. If the chimney operates continuously during the day and the night, a
soil type material with high thermal inertia and compactness and
low thermal diffusivity is recommended. This enhances the energy
released by it during the night.
• An unsteady model provides better and accurate predictions data for
solar systems in comparison to a steady model.
• The porous materials act as heat insulator and thus lead to an
increase in lower convective zone temperature and total heat storage
quantity in solar ponds. The instability of solar ponds could be
reduced by inserting the porous materials placed in the solar ponds.
It is worth mentioning that the ability of a solar pond in absorbing

Table 7
Research on applications of porous materials in other solar systems.

Authors Type of research Type of solar system Type of porous material Spatial dimensions

Chen and Liu [16] Numerical Solar composite wall Quartzite 2D

Villafán-Vidales et al. [98] Numerical Thermochemical reactor Silicon carbide (SiC) 2D
Kandasamy et al. [44] Numerical Power plant Porous wedge sheet with different properties 2D
Wang et al. [101,102] Numerical Thermochemical reactor Silicon carbide (SiC) 2D

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S. Rashidi et al.
Table 8
Applications of each solar energy system.
Name of system Applications
Solar chimneys Drying, ventilation and building space conditioning, power plant, cooling tower, improve indoor air quality, etc.
Solar collectors Solar water heating, solar air heating for building heating, solar cooling in air conditioning processes, solar power plants and some special
industrial heating processes like drying of the agricultural products, etc.
Solar heat exchangers/heaters Refrigeration systems, power stations, low temperature energy technology, natural-gas processing, chemical and petrochemical plants,
space heating, air conditioning, heating of buildings, drying of agricultural, textile, and marine products, etc.
Solar pond Desalination, electricity generation, greenhouse heating, space heating, etc.
Solar stills Domestic and industrial wastewater treatment, freshwater production, sea water desalination, water desalination for remote areas, etc.
Thermal energy storage All solar systems.
energy is depended on the stability of the gradient zone.
• Care should be exercised since porous materials have a positive
impact on heat transfer and a negative influence upon pressure drop
and consequently, pumping power.
• Some researchers believed that the radiation from the sun could be
simulated as a heat source in the porous materials. A time-
dependent radiation of the sun is needed to predict reliable results.
The following recommendations are suggested:
• The economic analysis of solar systems enhanced by porous
materials is an important topic for developing and commercializing
this technology.
• Material combinations should be considered for future experimental
works. For example, a researcher suggested a combination of
SCHOTT CERAN®FN material (a front material containing a high
specific surface, excellent absorption and high porosity) with SiC
catalyst carrier (a material of beneficial thermal conductivity proper-
ties and a quadratic pressure loss characteristic) to achieve a
combined material with better properties [26].
• The non-uniform heat flux is a key factor when the heat transfer
improvement for the receiver is investigated because porous media
absorbs the solar radiation non-uniformly through its thickness.
However, most of the heat transfer improvement techniques for
receivers with non-uniform heat flux are proposed for solar para-
bolic trough system. For other receivers, more studies are needed.
• The exergy analysis are beneficial guidelines to design porous solar
systems and can be applied by designers for operating and design
decisions.
• The applications of phase change materials in thermal energy
storage systems are limited due to their relatively low thermal
conductivities. Porous materials have a significant effect
on enhancing the phase change materials’ thermal conductiv-
ities. Most of research performed in this field are for low
temperature thermal energy storage systems. However, more
research is needed for high temperature thermal energy storage
systems.
•
Nanoparticles can be incorporated into porous materials to improve
the properties of porous materials. Nanoparticles have some ad-
vantages such as large surface areas and thermal conductivity, great
heat stability, excellent strength, and good chemical resistance. This
technique is a good idea for future research.
• Optical properties of porous materials should be considered as one
of the key factors in solar systems. There are some optical coatings
to improve the optical properties of porous materials.
• Other solar systems such as solar cells, solar thermoelectric devices,
and photovoltaic thermal systems have more potential for future
research about applications of porous materials in their systems.
• There are some optimization techniques such as Response Surface
Methodology, Taguchi, Genetic Algorithm, etc. and it is suggested to
apply these techniques for solar systems enhanced by porous
materials. The achieved results can serve as a significant design
guidelines for future manufacturing processes.
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Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to Ms. Emily Christian for assistance in
editing the manuscript.
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