Thermal and Materials Perspective on the Design of Open Volumetric Air Receiver for Process Heat Applications

This paper analyzes a novel, cost-effective planar waveguide solar concentrator design that is inspired by cellular hexagonal structures in nature with the benefits of facile installation and low operation and maintenance cost. A coupled thermal and optical analysis of solar irradiation through an ideal hexagonal waveguide concentrator integrated with a linear receiver is presented, along with a cost analysis methodology, to establish the upper limit of performance. The techno-economic model, coupled with numerical optimization, is used to determine designs that maximized power density and minimized the cost of heat in the temperature range of 100–250 °C, which constitutes more than half of the industrial process heat demand. Depending on the incident solar irradiation and the application temperature, the cost of heat for the optimal design configuration ranged between 0.1–0.27 $/W and 0.075–0.18 $/W for waveguide made of ZK7 glass and polycarbonate, respectively. A techno-economic analysis showed the potential of the technology to achieve cost as low as 80 $/m2 and 61 $/m2 for waveguide made of ZK7 glass and polycarbonate material, respectively, which is less than half the cost of state-of-the-art parabolic trough concentrators. Overall, the hexagonal waveguide solar concentrator technology shows immense potential for decarbonizing the industrial process heat and thermal desalination sectors.

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Catalyzed Deuterium-Deuterium and Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Blankets for High Temperature Process Heat Production

Nuclear Technology - Fusion ◽

10.13182/fst82-a20734 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 55-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Magdi M. H. Ragheb ◽

Behzad Salimi

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Heat Production ◽

High Temperature Process ◽

Process Heat ◽

Fusion Blankets

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Phase change heat transfer device for process heat applications

Nuclear Engineering and Design ◽

10.1016/j.nucengdes.2010.05.054 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 240 (10) ◽

pp. 2409-2414 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Piyush Sabharwall ◽

Mike Patterson ◽

Vivek Utgikar ◽

Fred Gunnerson

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Phase Change ◽

Process Heat ◽

Phase Change Heat Transfer ◽

Transfer Device

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Large Scale Solar Process Heat Systems -planning, Realization and System Operation

Energy Procedia ◽

10.1016/j.egypro.2016.06.223 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 91 ◽

pp. 638-649 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Dirk Pietruschka ◽

Ilyes Ben Hassine ◽

Mariela Cotrado ◽

Roberto Fedrizzi ◽

Marco Cozzini

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

System Operation ◽

Systems Planning ◽

Process Heat

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Solar Field Output Temperature Optimization Using a MILP Algorithm and a 0D Model in the Case of a Hybrid Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plant for SHIP Applications

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14133731 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (13) ◽

pp. 3731

Author(s):

Simon Kamerling ◽

Valéry Vuillerme ◽

Sylvain Rodat

Keyword(s):

Mass Flow Rate ◽

Mass Flow ◽

Flow Rate ◽

Solar Thermal ◽

Outlet Temperature ◽

Field Mass ◽

Heat Demand ◽

Process Heat ◽

Solar Field ◽

Control Trajectory

Using solar power for industrial process heat is an increasing trend to fight against climate change thanks to renewable heat. Process heat demand and solar flux can both present intermittency issues in industrial systems, therefore solar systems with storage introduce a degree of freedom on which optimization, on a mathematical basis, can be performed. As the efficiency of solar thermal receivers varies as a function of temperature and solar flux, it seems natural to consider an optimization on the operating temperature of the solar field. In this paper, a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) algorithm is developed to optimize the operating temperature in a system consisting of a concentrated solar thermal field with storage, hybridized with a boiler. The MILP algorithm optimizes the control trajectory on a time horizon of 48 h in order to minimize boiler use. Objective function corresponds to the boiler use, for completion of the heat from the solar field, whereas the linear constraints are a simplified representation of the system. The solar field mass flow rate is the optimization variable which is directly linked to the outlet temperature of the solar field. The control trajectory consists of the solar field mass flow rate and outlet temperature, along with the auxiliary mass flow rate going directly to the boiler. The control trajectory is then injected in a 0D model of the plant which performs more detailed calculations. For the purpose of the study, a Linear Fresnel system is investigated, with generic heat demand curves and constant temperature demand. The value of the developed algorithm is compared with two other control approaches: one operating at the nominal solar field output temperature, and the other one operating at the actual demand mass flow rate. Finally, a case study and a sensitivity analysis are presented. The MILP’s control shows to be more performant, up to a relative increase of the annual solar fraction of 4% at 350 °C process temperature. Novelty of this work resides in the MILP optimization of temperature levels presenting high non-linearities, applied to a solar thermal system with storage for process heat applications.

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