Parabolic Trough Systems (PTCs) are a type of Concentrated Solar Power Technology (CSP) meant for generating electrical power by providing steam to operate turbines that produce the power. A PTC is parabolically curved and in the middle of the trough there is an absorber pipe that contains a heat transfer fluid whose type can vary. The fluid is heated and is then pumped to a steam generator where it converts water into steam. PTC systems often contain hundreds or thousands of collectors in a solar field array where they can provide enough heat energy to operate power plants at Megawatt plus capacity. Parabolic Trough Collectors were developed decades ago and are still considered one of the main solar heating power technologies available. Many know that concentrated solar power is mostly used to produce electrical power but a few industrial or commercial applications they are useful for is towards process steam heat and domestically heated water. The idea of using solar power to heat water for industrial purposes has been done for decades but now also fits well with the need for buildings to become more energy efficient and sustainable. Alternative energy systems that can replace the need to use electrical power for heating needs fall in line with sustainable building technology. Parabolic trough systems fit well as a model to heat water for industrial or large commercial applications where a large amount of water has the need to be heated quickly. Not a large amount of heat is needed to provide for domestically heated water and parabolic troughs provide heat above 300 celcius, but they are the right technology to use when a lot of water is needed by facilities such as hospitals, prisons, recreational facilities, government and educational buildings. Domestic hot water needs can be used for reasons such as for sanitation purposes in bathrooms like showers, places may also have laundry facilities as well. The same kind of heat may also be used for space heating purposes to heat the various rooms in a building complex.
Much of the heat needed for these applications is below 100 celcius. PTCs are not meant for heating residential water as smaller sized solar technologies are more suited for this purpose. However, they may be adequate in applications where swimming pools have the need to be heated. Solar thermal heating is not the only way to provide domesically heated water through alternative energy sources. The waste heat from fuel cell power plants that have been installed at facilities like prisons have also been converted into hot water used for the sanitation facilities at prisons such as the Alameda County Jail. Process steam heat is another needed commodity for industry that could use alternative means such as solar thermal energy to produce it. Steam heat is needed for processes such as drying, distillation, evaporation and sterilization. These are especially important processes for industries such as food processing or chemical manufacturing. In fact, PTCs have been installed at food processing plant companies such as Campbells Soup, Ore-Ida Foods and Frito-Lay since the late 1970's. This could even help beverage industries such as beer brewing or wineries. Process heat is even needed in industries such as the automobile or electronic components manufacturing as heat is needed for the surface treatment of parts such as metals, plastics or ceramics. As one can see, there are a number of industries that could use process heat derived from solar thermal sources. They could continued to be installed at companies such as these due to higher standards of green or sustainable building brought on by organizations such as the US Green Building Council which have set certification standards called LEED for the construction and retrofitting of buildings for sustainability purposes. As previously mentioned, perhaps buildings could be retrofitted to contain PTCs for hot water or process steam. Providing for more energy efficient buildings from solar thermal technologies should be able to create a lot of opportunities for the construction, installation and manufacturing industries.
ARTICLE REFERENCE SOURCE
"Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors and Their Applications", Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews Vol 14 issue 7 pgs 1695-1721 [2010] by AF Garcia, E.Zarza, L.Valenzuela, M.Perez
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KEYWORDS: Parabolic Trough Collectors, Concentrated Solar Power Applications, Process Steam Heat, Energy Efficiency for Food Processing and Chemical Manufacturing Industries, Domestically Heated Water, Solar thermal heated water, Drying - Distillation - Evaporation, US Green Building Council LEED certification, Heat Surface Treatment of Parts
