Pilot Plant for Solar Process Steam Supply

An aluminium upgrading process will be supplied by steam directly generated in parabolic trough collectors. In this first of it’s kind installation in an industrial environment, steam at 4 bar will be fed into the existing distribution lines of the production to heat anodizing baths and storage tanks. The integration of the solar steam through separate heat exchangers in parallel to the existing system was also considered. In principle, due to the low temperatures of the baths, solar hot water systems could be integrated in the same way. However, the additional heat exchangers and pipelines between the solar system and the consuming process generate significant investment cost on top of the solar system. The selected integration of the solar steam generator in parallel to the existing boiler reduces the complexity of the system, saves cost by avoiding duplication of piping and heat exchangers, and provides flexibility in the operation to ensure security of supply and maximum use of available solar energy