Industrial Heat

Research at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility is focused on three major challenges related to incorporating concentrating solar thermal heat into industrial processes:

• Decision support tools to assess costs, performance and technology options for a given process
• System integration engineering to develop interfaces to deliver on-site solar heat generation to a specified process
• Adoption readiness advancement through independent third-party assessment and long-term reliability demonstrations at relevant scale

Related projects

C & E Concrete Trgr

Laying asphalt requires heating the material to 150 °C to make it malleable for rolling into a road surface. This heat is typically delivered to the asphalt mix through the combustion of diesel or propane. To make the process more renewable, C&E Concrete is interested in heating the asphalt with heat gathered from renewable energy sources such as solar or wind. A packed bed storage system will be designed to gather heat from the intermittent renewable sources to deliver to the asphalt heating process.

Solar Industrial Process Heat for Exploiting Waste Streams for Enhanced Revenue (SEWER)

The Solar Industrial Process Heat for Exploiting Waste Streams for Enhanced Revenue project is focused on utilizing concentrated sunlight for remote, dispatchable wastewater treatment applications. The project will measure the effectiveness of concentrated UV light in the decomposing of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in ground water into safe, stable byproducts such as fluoride while recovering the water. This project will also provide a proof-of-concept for utilizing heat from concentrated sunlight to destroy PFAS in solids, such as recycling of granulated activated carbon filters and treatment of contaminated soil where PFAS were to be spilled or applied to the ground. The results will measure the amount of PFAS destroyed using concentrating solar thermal heat, the byproducts produced and a technoeconomic assessment to determine the cost and most promising applications for this approach.

Solar Thermal Mixed Media Enhancement for the Decarbonization of Clinker Production (Solar MEAD)

The production of cement accounts for nearly 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually. This represents a larger share of emissions than those generated by the aviation industry. To create cement, fossil fuel is combusted to produce high-temperature heat to break down calcium carbonate into calcium oxide. The goal of the Solar Thermal Mixed Media Enhancement for the Decarbonization of Clinker Production (Solar MEAD) project is to replace the fossil fuel heat source with renewably generated heat produced with concentrating solar power.

Contact: CSP Team