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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Solar Ponds for Industrial Process Heat

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5857765· OSTI ID:5857765

Solar ponds offer perhaps the simplest technique for conversion of solar energy to thermal energy, which can be used for industrial process heat. It is unique in its capability in acting both as collector and storage. Further, the cost of solar pond per unit area is less than any active collectors available today. Combination of these economic and technical factors make solar ponds attractive as a fuel saver in IPH applications. Detailed calculations are given for solar ponds in two specific applications: providing hot water for aluminum can washing in a manufacturing plant and hot water for washing in a large commercial laundry. With the help of computer codes developed at SERI for other solar IPH systems, it is shown that solar ponds are far more cost effective than any other solar IPH technology for these applications.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
5857765
Report Number(s):
SERI/TP-351-460
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English