Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) collectors convert solar energy into both electrical and thermal energy. This conversion enables the cooling of solar cells while also allowing the produced thermal energy to be used to heat water or space. A hybrid solar panel converts the heat emitted by photovoltaic cells into a transfer fluid (liquid or air), enhancing PV cell efficiency while also producing useful solar heat for household hot water or heating. The heated air extracted from the PV/T collector can be used as a heat source for the building. The paper presents a baffle-based collector for a photovoltaic/thermal system (PVT) to increase output from the system using solar power by comparison with a PVT system without baffles, and its electrical and thermal performance are analysed with the experimental results. Baffles are a solution for optimizing the performance of flat plate solar collectors, which often have low performance. Three typical days from the March 2022 season were chosen and presented as part of this study. For the experiments, two fans were used for air extraction in the PV/T collector, with three speeds chosen: 0.02804 m3/s, 0.0082 m3/s, and 0.016 m3/s, respectively. The variation in thermal and electrical efficiencies of PV/T solar collectors has been calculated for the three tests of March 3, 4, and 5, 2022. The results indicated that the thermal and electrical efficiencies of the PV/T collector were on average 86% and about 9%, respectively, and the thermal efficiency improved by 22% compared with a PV/T collector without baffles in the absorber.

The Adrar region (Algeria) has a total of 397,800 date palm trees (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Due to annual palm cleaning, large quantities of lignocellulosic biomass are produced. Depending on the variety, an average of 65 kg of biowaste is obtained per palm tree. Since the value of this biowaste is underrated, most of the palms are burned outdoors, causing air and visual pollution. This work explores the gasification potential of lignocellulosic waste from date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L. Takarbouche variety) into useful energy. The technology investigated is air updraft fixed-bed gasification, thanks to an originally designed and built reactor, with the capability to process 1 kg of feedstock. Four types of palm waste—namely, palms, petioles, bunch, and bunch peduncles—are first characterized (bulk density, proximate analysis, fixed carbon, elemental composition, and calorific value) and then used as feedstock for two gasification tests each. The syngas produced for the four date palm wastes is combustible, with an outlet temperature between 200 and 400 °C. The operating temperature inside the gasifier varies according to the feature of the biomass cuts (from 174 °C for the peduncles to 557 °C for palms). The experimental setup is also equipped with a cyclone, allowing for the recovery of some of the tar produced during the tests. Finally, the results show that the residence time has a positive effect on the conversion rate of date palm waste, which can significantly increase it to values of around 95%.