•The thermal performance of fin prolonged heat exchanger with the application of different nanofluids have been studied.•The graphene oxide (GO) and aluminum oxide Al2O3 nanoparticles are used to enhance the thermal impact of base fluid.•The thermal performances of GO-based nanofluids reports more boosted thermal performances as compared to aluminum oxide based nanofluids.•Multidisciplinary applications of current model are predicted. Heat exchangers play a critical role in waste heat recovery systems by enabling the transfer of heat from high-temperature waste streams to other fluids, thus improving overall energy efficiency and reducing emissions. The present study focuses on the performance analysis of fin prolonged heat exchanger with the application of different nanofluids. The results suggest that the incorporation of graphene oxide (GO) and Al2O3 nanoparticles to the base fluid can enhance the heat transfer performance, with GO-based nanofluids exhibiting better results than Al2O3-based nanofluids. The incorporation of nanoparticles to a base fluid increases the pressure drop, and GO/water nanofluid exhibits less pressure drop than Al2O3/water nanofluid due to the higher aspect ratio, larger surface area, and more efficient alignment of GO nanoparticles in the fluid flow. It is concluded that enhancement in heat transfer is more impressive for GO-water working fluid. The fluctuation in pressure drop is noted for Al2O3 nanoparticles. The heat transfer phenomenon effected with higher aspect ratio and surface area.