Abstract
Industry sector has an important impact on primary energy consumption at the international level, and solar energy constitutes a real alternative to cover these energy needs partially. Among thermosolar concentration technologies, Linear Fresnel Collector (LFC) technology has some advantages that make it more accessible to industries. With the aim of providing new tools for easier decision-making processes, in the present work, several energy audits were carried out in industries (located in the south-west of Europe, with considerable steam consumptions), quantifying thermal and energy consumptions and defining both work schedules and seasonality. Afterwards, a comparison based on three factors was carried out: Thermal consumption regarding total industry consumption, the performance of the work during the solar schedule, and the quantification of the monthly average concentrated energy for a certain LFC facility. The analysis carried out according to these criteria showed different results for each case, making a global assessment necessary to suitably ponder each factor. This analysis ranked tomato industries as the most suitable for LFC technology, due to the fact that their main operating period was during the months with the highest solar isolation, and the solar schedule was completely integrated in a 24-h working day. Also, industrial waxes and laundries showed a good combination of both facts.
Highlights
There has been a constant increase in energy consumption over the last century
Systems to support traditional systems of thermal energy generation. This procedure was based on the study of three factors: Thermal consumption compared to the total in the industry, performance of the work during the solar schedule, and quantification of the monthly average concentrated energy for a certain Linear Fresnel Collector (LFC) facility
This way, it is possible to determine the fraction of time in which the working schedule overlaps with the solar schedule
Summary
There has been a constant increase in energy consumption over the last century. Both energy demand and CO2 emissions are expected to rise to 60% in 2030. Afterwards, a procedure was established to determine the grade of the susceptibility of industries for the implementation of LFC systems to support traditional systems of thermal energy generation This procedure was based on the study of three factors: Thermal consumption compared to the total in the industry, performance of the work during the solar schedule, and quantification of the monthly average concentrated energy for a certain LFC facility. In the latter case, a set of energy simulation studies was carried out, paying attention to the optical yield variation and different direct isolation levels throughout the year
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