The Use of Solar Thermal Heating in SPIRE and Non-SPIRE Industrial Processes

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of solar thermal energy systems in SPIRE (sustainable process industry through resource and energy efficiency) and non-SPIRE industries and evaluates the use a novel solar Fresnel collector for generating temperatures of up to 400 °C. The investigation showed that solar thermal energy systems were mostly integrated into the non-SPIRE industries like food and beverages, paper and pulp and the textile industries with temperature requirements of up to 150 °C while few of them were used in the SPIRE industries like the non-metallic minerals, chemicals, basic metals and water industries with temperature requirements of up to 1500 °C. The limitation of those solar energy systems was seen in their application in higher irradiance regions due to the limited operation temperature of certain types of solar collectors, which particularly affected the SPIRE industry sector. To increase their use in high and low irradiance regions, a novel solar thermal system developed by the EU-ASTEP project that could achieve a temperature of up to 400 °C was introduced. The calculations of the theoretical and technical potential application of the ASTEP system in EU industrial processes showed an increase of 43%, of which 802.6 TWh totalled the theoretical potential and 96.3 TWh the technical potential. This resulted in a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 24 thousand kt CO2 equivalent, which could help industries to achieve their 2050 targets for net-zero GHG emissions.

Design and simulation of efficient solar thermal water heating system for textile industries in Pakistan

“…One of these systems uses parabolic trough collector to produce heat at 140℃ for unspecified processes. [27] Solar heating is a proven technology for producing hot water [28]. This technology is rarely used especially in Pakistan.…”

Numerical Analysis of a Solar-Powered Tube Heater

“…Industries are responsible for 37% of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to their use of fossil fuels to meet the heat and electricity demand of their processes [1]. Governments have set targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 [2] which encouraged industries to increase the use of renewable energy technologies, particularly solar thermal energy which has the ability to reduce GHG emissions [3]. Currently, 635 solar thermal energy collectors that operate at a temperature of up to 400 o C are integrated into industrial processes producing approximately 441 MWh of heat annually [4].…”

“…The iron and steel industry was the secondhighest energy consumer in EU exceeding 550 TWh in 2015 [6]. Its processes require 92% of their heat at high temperatures above 400 o C and 4.5% (16.6 TWh in EU) at medium temperatures of 150-400 o C [3]. To the author's best knowledge, no solar thermal energy systems have been integrated to this industry despite the available solar thermal technology for the processes of medium temperature [7], [8].…”

“…One of the processes in the iron and steel industry that can be considered for the application of solar thermal energy is the powder-based coating process of steel tubes. It uses electric-based induction heaters to heat the tubes to a high temperature of 240 o C as they move axially before they are powder coated [3]. This leads to high electricity consumption and increases the environmental impact of the industry [9].…”