Open Access

ARTICLE

Environmental Sustainability through Waste-to-Wealth Automotive Oil Usage in a Thermal Storage System Integrated with Circulating-Air Solar Air Heater

Shaymaa Husham Abdulmalek¹, Ali Ahmed Gitan^2,*, Israa Sami Farhan², Oras Fadhil Khalaf¹, Sayf Waleed Albayati¹

1 Electromechanical Engineering Department, University of Samarra, Samarra, 34010, Iraq
2 Sustainable Energy Engineering Department, Tikrit University, Tikrit, 34001, Iraq

* Corresponding Author: Ali Ahmed Gitan. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advancements in Energy Resources and Their Processes, Systems, Materials and Policies for Affordable Energy Sustainability)

Energy Engineering 2026, 123(3), 6 https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2026.074018

Received 30 September 2025; Accepted 31 December 2025; Issue published 27 February 2026

Abstract

The utilisation of waste in green sustainable technology can provide a clean environment and support energy demand. This work aims to design and analyse the performance of a developed indirect flat-plate Solar Air Heater (SAH) integrated with an internal thermal storage unit using Waste Automotive Oil (WAO). The SAH was designed based on the circulation of confined air around the internal thermal storage unit due to the updraft effects of hot air. Two SAHs were tested to compare the performance of WAO and water, with the results being compared to previous work that utilised phase change material. Results showed that WAO responds faster in the early stage, while water has slightly higher daytime efficiency, with a maximum temperature of 60°C, while WAO reached a maximum temperature of 76°C. During the discharge cycle, WAO achieved an efficiency of 65.7%, while the water’s efficiency 73.2% within the same period. The highest outlet air temperatures recorded were 43°C for WAO and 33.8°C for water. These findings support that water is suitable for applications requiring rapid thermal charging, while WAO offers extended thermal stability. The study highlights the feasibility of using low-cost materials, such as WAO and water, to enhance the performance of solar energy systems, thereby making them more viable for industrial applications like drying and heating.

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Keywords

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