Decarbonization of the industrial processes using novel Sundial solar thermal units

Abstract

The environmental impact of a novel solar thermal technology called Sundial that uses rotary Fresnel collectors is investigated. Two different designs were developed; one to be used for the metal processing industry located in a high latitude country and the other one for the dairy industry located in a low latitude country. In the metal processing industry, the Sundial replaces only the electricity while in the dairy industry, it replaces the use of fuel for heating and electricity for cooling. Environmental impact assessment of the Sundial units was conducted using SimaPro Software 9.2 and the results showed that the unit developed for the dairy industry had a higher environmental life cycle impact, which was related to the design of the unit containing more components and materials. A key advantage of the newly developed units is its ability to provide high temperatures for the requirements of the industrial processes like a metal processing industry. The carbon-dioxide emissions reductions for the potential application of the unit to the industrial process were also calculated for the both industries. It was projected that for the future capacity of the high latitude Sundial (HLS) of 1,828MWh, the GHG emissions reduction is 559.4 tonnes of CO2 emissions while the future capacity of the low latitude Sundial (LLS) of 2,158 MWh, the GHG emissions reduction is 909.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This demonstrates the great potential of the Sundial units to contribute to the decarbonization of industrial processes and meet the EU’s 2050 environmental targets.