Solar Thermal Conversion Technologies for Process Heating Applications in Automobile Industries

Abstract

The automobile sector is one of the world’s most important industries, with significant energy demands in both thermal and electrical forms. Many operations in the production of automobiles and auto components, including casting, forging, painting, and electroplating, need the use of heat or steam. Around 70% of the total energy consumed by the vehicle industry is thermal energy in the form of heat or steam. Solar collectors are capable of supplying a significant portion of thermal energy needed for industrial process heating, but the collector technology utilized is very dependent on the temperatures involved. The application of appropriate solar thermal technology can have a favourable influence on the overall energy and environmental situation of the automobile sector. There are several solar thermal technologies available for the automobile industry, including CST technologies. The solar-assisted process heating system reduced 30 to 40% of the expenditure on electricity and conventional fuels like coal, natural gas, LPG, diesel, etc. This chapter discusses the overview of the automobile industry’s energy consumption profile for various process heating applications and the temperature involved in the operations. The feasibility of utilizing solar thermal energy conversion technologies for fulfilling the thermal energy requirements is also discussed along with the attainable temperature. The later part of the chapter includes the successful implementation of solar thermal systems situated in different parts of the world.