Design optimization of a multi-temperature solar thermal heating system for an industrial process

Presently, great challenges are being faced by the industrial sector in terms of energy management and environmental protection. Utilization of solar energy to meet a portion of heat demand in various industries constitutes tremendous economic opportunities for developing countries such as Morocco. Therefore, this paper introduces an optimization procedure and simulation of a centralized solar heating system providing hot water to four processes with different temperature levels and load profiles. Asa case study, a Casablanca based Moroccan milk processing company is evaluated and the life cycle cost method is practiced to select the optimal size of the main design parameters for decision-making. It was found that 400m2 of evacuated tube collectors tilted at an angle of 30° and connected to a 2000l storage tank can lead to a maximum life cycle saving cost of 179kUSD for a total annual heat demand of 528.23MWh. In this optimal configuration, the overall annual solar fraction is found to be 41% and the payback period of 12.27years attained. The system has the potential to reduce around 77.23tons of CO2 equivalents of greenhouse gas emissions annually. The economic competitiveness of the solar thermal heating plant can be considerably improved with higher inflation rates and lower initial investments.

[1]  Martin John Atkins,et al.  Integration of industrial solar and gaseous waste heat into heat recovery loops using constant and variable temperature storage , 2014 .

[2]  Martin John Atkins,et al.  Integration of solar thermal for improved energy efficiency in low-temperature-pinch industrial processes , 2010 .

[3]  Koray Ulgen,et al.  What is the effect of optimum independent parameters on solar heating systems , 2015 .

[4]  Tarik Kousksou,et al.  Solar domestic heating water systems in Morocco: An energy analysis , 2015 .

[5]  Tarik Kousksou,et al.  Renewable energy potential and national policy directions for sustainable development in Morocco , 2015 .

[6]  T. Bouhal,et al.  Performance evaluation of solar adsorption cooling systems for vaccine preservation in Sub-Saharan Africa , 2016 .

[7]  Wei Sun,et al.  Experimental comparison of two PV direct-coupled solar water heating systems with the traditional system , 2014 .

[8]  Ricardo Rüther,et al.  The role and benefits of solar water heating in the energy demands of low-income dwellings in Brazil , 2010 .

[9]  Mario Motta,et al.  Solar Thermal Plants for Industrial Process Heat in Tunisia: Economic Feasibility Analysis and Ideas for a New Policy , 2012 .

[10]  Tarik Kousksou,et al.  Economic and environmental assessment of solar air-conditioning systems in Morocco , 2015 .

[11]  Bastian Schmitt,et al.  System analysis of a low-temperature solar process heat system , 2014 .

[12]  Liu Ming,et al.  Experimental study of the burning-cave hot water soil heating system in solar greenhouse , 2016 .

[13]  Gernot Gwehenberger,et al.  Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions through the application of solar thermal energy in industrial processes , 2007 .

[14]  Ursula Eicker,et al.  Economic evaluation of solar thermal and photovoltaic cooling systems through simulation in different climatic conditions: An analysis in three different cities in Europe , 2014 .

[15]  C. Rivera-Solorio,et al.  Transient simulation of a solar heating system for a small-scale ethanol-water distillation plant: Thermal, environmental and economic performance , 2017 .

[16]  Zhenjun Ma,et al.  A simplified method for optimal design of solar water heating systems based on life-cycle energy analysis , 2015 .

[17]  Todd Otanicar,et al.  Prospects for solar cooling – An economic and environmental assessment , 2012 .

[18]  Jalel Labidi,et al.  Integration of a solar thermal system in a dairy process , 2011 .

[19]  Tara C. Kandpal,et al.  Carbon mitigation potential of solar industrial process heating: paper industry in India , 2016 .

[20]  Tarik Kousksou,et al.  Solar driven cooling systems: An updated review , 2015 .

[21]  Jiří Jaromír Klemeš,et al.  Integrating district cooling systems in Locally Integrated Energy Sectors through Total Site Heat Integration , 2016 .

[22]  B. Rudolf,et al.  World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated , 2006 .

[23]  Brian Elmegaard,et al.  Process and Economic Optimisation of a Milk Processing Plant with Solar Thermal Energy , 2016 .

[24]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  Enhanced thermal energy supply via central solar heating plants with seasonal storage: A multi-objective optimization approach , 2016 .

[25]  Pradip Dutta,et al.  Influence of cycle time and collector area on solar driven adsorption chillers , 2016 .

[26]  Rangan Banerjee,et al.  A review of solar thermochemical processes , 2016 .

[27]  Klaus Vajen,et al.  The potential of solar heat for industrial processes in Germany , 2012 .

[28]  Martin John Atkins,et al.  Integration options for solar thermal with low temperature industrial heat recovery loops , 2015 .

[29]  S. Kalogirou.  Solar Energy Engineering: Processes and Systems , 2009 .

[30]  Luisa F. Cabeza,et al.  Industrial waste heat recovery technologies: An economic analysis of heat transformation technologies , 2015 .

[31]  A. Ochoa,et al.  Solar water heating for a hospital laundry: A case study , 2015 .

[32]  Hasan Demir,et al.  A review on adsorption heat pump: Problems and solutions , 2008 .

[33]  Mohamed Aslam,et al.  Efficient energy consumption in industrial sectors and its effect on environment: A comparative analysis between G8 and Southeast Asian emerging economies , 2016 .

[34]  Maxime Canaff,et al.  A non-tracking concentrating collector for solar thermal applications , 2017 .

[35]  Tara C. Kandpal,et al.  Solar industrial process heating: A review , 2017 .

[36]  Parisa A. Bahri,et al.  Techno-economic and reliability assessment of solar water heaters in Australia based on Monte Carlo analysis , 2017 .

[37]  Saad Mekhilef,et al.  A review on solar energy use in industries , 2011 .

[38]  W. Beckman,et al.  Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes , 1985 .

[39]  Keh-Chin Chang,et al.  Thermal performance evaluation of solar water heating systems in Australia, Taiwan and Japan – A comparative review , 2015 .

[40]  Aránzazu Fernández-García,et al.  A parabolic-trough collector for cleaner industrial process heat , 2015 .

[41]  Vincent Gerbaud,et al.  Reducing process cost and CO2 emissions for extractive distillation by double-effect heat integration and mechanical heat pump , 2016 .

[42]  Shuai Deng,et al.  Natural gas purification by heat pump assisted MEA absorption process , 2017 .

[43]  Ricardo Rüther,et al.  Impacts of Domestic Solar Water Heating (DSWH) systems on the cost of a hot shower in low-income dwellings in Brazil , 2017 .

[44]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  Build-up and performance test of a novel solar thermal roof for heat pump operation , 2017 .

[45]  Xudong Zhao,et al.  Applications of solar water heating system with phase change material , 2015 .

[46]  Jiří Jaromír Klemeš,et al.  Methodology for maximising the use of renewables with variable availability , 2012 .

[47]  Andrew Beath,et al.  Industrial energy usage in Australia and the potential for implementation of solar thermal heat and power , 2012 .

[48]  Minbo Yang,et al.  Heat integration of heat pump assisted distillation into the overall process , 2016 .

[49]  Robin Smith,et al.  A mixed integer linear programming model for integrating thermodynamic cycles for waste heat exploitation in process sites , 2016 .

[50]  Jiankai Dong,et al.  An experimental investigation on a small-sized parabolic trough solar collector for water heating in cold areas , 2016 .

[51]  Gabriele Comodi,et al.  Life cycle assessment and energy-CO2-economic payback analyses of renewable domestic hot water systems with unglazed and glazed solar thermal panels , 2016 .

[52]  J. Klemeš,et al.  Integration of solar thermal energy into processes with heat demand , 2012, Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy.

[53]  Soteris A. Kalogirou,et al.  The potential of solar industrial process heat applications , 2003 .

[54]  Stefan Hess,et al.  Large-scale solar water heating in South Africa: Status, barriers and recommendations , 2016 .

[55]  André Bardow,et al.  On the assessment of renewable industrial processes: Case study for solar co-production of methanol and power , 2016 .

[56]  Tarik Kousksou,et al.  Morocco's strategy for energy security and low-carbon growth , 2015 .

[57]  Rahman Saidur,et al.  Grid-connected PV systems installed on institutional buildings: Technology comparison, energy analysis and economic performance , 2016 .

[58]  Michael J. Burke.  Applied Ergonomics Handbook , 1992 .