Design of a Solar Dish Receiver and Life Cycle Assessment of a Hot Water System
The energy sector is the main source of greenhouse gases, so it has the highest potential for improvement. The improvements can be achieved by generating energy from renewable sources. It is necessary to combine production from renewable sources with storage systems. Thermal energy storage using con...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Clean Technologies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/1/19 |
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| author | Ibrahim Tursunović Davide Papurello |
| author_facet | Ibrahim Tursunović Davide Papurello |
| author_sort | Ibrahim Tursunović |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The energy sector is the main source of greenhouse gases, so it has the highest potential for improvement. The improvements can be achieved by generating energy from renewable sources. It is necessary to combine production from renewable sources with storage systems. Thermal energy storage using concentrated solar power systems is a promising technology for dispatchable renewable energy that can guarantee a stable energy supply even in remote areas without contributing to greenhouse gas emissions during operation. However, it must be emphasised that greenhouse gases and other impacts can occur during the production process of concentrating solar system components. This paper analyses the receiver design to produce thermal energy for the existing CSP dish plant at the Energy Center of the Politecnico di Torino. The plant is designed to produce electrical energy in the spring and summer periods. In addition to this energy production, the CSP can be adopted to produce thermal energy, through hot water, during the less favourable periods of the year in terms of global solar radiation. The surface heat flux is calculated in the first part of the analysis to obtain the maximum internal temperature in the receiver, which is 873.7 °C. This value is a constraint for the choice of material for the solar receiver. A life cycle assessment is performed to compare the emissions generated during the production of the main components of the CSP system with the emissions generated by the methane-fuelled water heater to produce the same amount of thermal energy. It can be concluded that the production of the main components of the CSP system results in lower greenhouse gas emissions than the operational phase of a conventional system. Given the assumptions made, the utilization of methane leads to the emission of approximately 12,240 kg of CO<sub>2</sub>, whereas the production of the CSP system results in emissions totalling 5332.8 kg of CO<sub>2</sub> equivalent |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:25:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09abceb7d60e4070bb3f142372f90691 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-8797 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:25:15Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Clean Technologies |
| spelling | doaj.art-09abceb7d60e4070bb3f142372f906912024-03-27T13:31:38ZengMDPI AGClean Technologies2571-87972024-03-016137939610.3390/cleantechnol6010019Design of a Solar Dish Receiver and Life Cycle Assessment of a Hot Water SystemIbrahim Tursunović0Davide Papurello1Department of Energy (DENERG), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Energy (DENERG), Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Turin, ItalyThe energy sector is the main source of greenhouse gases, so it has the highest potential for improvement. The improvements can be achieved by generating energy from renewable sources. It is necessary to combine production from renewable sources with storage systems. Thermal energy storage using concentrated solar power systems is a promising technology for dispatchable renewable energy that can guarantee a stable energy supply even in remote areas without contributing to greenhouse gas emissions during operation. However, it must be emphasised that greenhouse gases and other impacts can occur during the production process of concentrating solar system components. This paper analyses the receiver design to produce thermal energy for the existing CSP dish plant at the Energy Center of the Politecnico di Torino. The plant is designed to produce electrical energy in the spring and summer periods. In addition to this energy production, the CSP can be adopted to produce thermal energy, through hot water, during the less favourable periods of the year in terms of global solar radiation. The surface heat flux is calculated in the first part of the analysis to obtain the maximum internal temperature in the receiver, which is 873.7 °C. This value is a constraint for the choice of material for the solar receiver. A life cycle assessment is performed to compare the emissions generated during the production of the main components of the CSP system with the emissions generated by the methane-fuelled water heater to produce the same amount of thermal energy. It can be concluded that the production of the main components of the CSP system results in lower greenhouse gas emissions than the operational phase of a conventional system. Given the assumptions made, the utilization of methane leads to the emission of approximately 12,240 kg of CO<sub>2</sub>, whereas the production of the CSP system results in emissions totalling 5332.8 kg of CO<sub>2</sub> equivalenthttps://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/1/19LCACSPsolar energydomestic hot waterrenewable energy |
| spellingShingle | Ibrahim Tursunović Davide Papurello Design of a Solar Dish Receiver and Life Cycle Assessment of a Hot Water System Clean Technologies LCA CSP solar energy domestic hot water renewable energy |
| title | Design of a Solar Dish Receiver and Life Cycle Assessment of a Hot Water System |
| title_full | Design of a Solar Dish Receiver and Life Cycle Assessment of a Hot Water System |
| title_fullStr | Design of a Solar Dish Receiver and Life Cycle Assessment of a Hot Water System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design of a Solar Dish Receiver and Life Cycle Assessment of a Hot Water System |
| title_short | Design of a Solar Dish Receiver and Life Cycle Assessment of a Hot Water System |
| title_sort | design of a solar dish receiver and life cycle assessment of a hot water system |
| topic | LCA CSP solar energy domestic hot water renewable energy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/1/19 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ibrahimtursunovic designofasolardishreceiverandlifecycleassessmentofahotwatersystem AT davidepapurello designofasolardishreceiverandlifecycleassessmentofahotwatersystem |