João Farinha Mendes

Compound parabolic concentrator technology development to commercial solar detoxification applications

Abstract An EC-DGXII BRITE-EURAM-III-financed project called ‘Solar detoxification technology in the treatment of persistent non-biodegradable chlorinated industrial water contaminants’ is described. The objectives are to develop a simple, efficient and commercially competitive solar water treatment technology based on compound parabolic collectors (CPC) enabling design and erection of turnkey installations. A European industrial consortium, SOLARDETOX, representing industry and research in Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy has been created through this project. Some of the most up-to-date scientific and technological results are given, including the design of the first industrial European solar detoxification treatment plant, the main project deliverable.

Incidence Angle Modifiers: A General Approach for Energy Calculations

The calculation of the energy (power) delivered by a given solar collector, requires special care in the consideration of the way it handles the incoming solar radiation. Some collectors, e.g. flat plate types, are easy to characterize from an optical point of view, given their rotational symmetry with respect to the incident angle on the entrance aperture. This in contrast with collectors possessing a 2D (or cylindrical) symmetry, such as collectors using evacuated tubes or CPC collectors, requiring the incident radiation to be decomposed and treated in two orthogonal planes.

Redirecting concentrated radiation

Often the direction of radiation is important for technological reasons. Melting substances may drip down, or for air receivers, convection may cause instabilities. One obvious solution is to reorient the radiation before concentration with a planar mirror. This is only practical, if the angular spread is considerably less than 45 degrees. Here we propose a section of a torus with reflecting walls to reorient the radiation. The torus, by virtue of its rotational symmetry will not reject any radiation, even if the incoming radiation is close to the thermodynamic limit and thus completely diffuse. A toroid reflector can be easily manufactured from massive material and cooled. It seams a compact and practical device. We calculate the number of reflections and discuss applications of such a device in solar furnaces.

The Use of Collector Efficiency Test Results in Long Term Performance Calculations: Revisions and Clarifications in View of Proper Collector Characterization and Inter Comparison

There are a growing number of solar thermal collector types: flat plates, evacuated tubes with and without backing reflectors and different tubular spacing, low concentration collectors, using different types of concentrating optics. These different concepts and designs all compete to be more efficient or simply cheaper, easier to operate, etc. at ever higher temperatures, and even to extend the use of solar thermal energy in other applications beyond the most common water heating for domestic purposes.

SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTORS IN POLYMERIC MATERIALS: A NOVEL APPROACH TOWARDS HIGHER OPERATING TEMPERATURES

The increasing demand for low temperature solar thermal collectors, especially for hot water production purposes in dwellings, swimming pools, hotels or industry, has lead to the possibility of high scale production, with leading manufacturers presenting yearly productions of hundreds of thousands of square meters. In such conditions, the use of polymeric materials in the manufacturing of solar collectors acquires particular interest, opening a full scope of opportunities for lower production costs, by means of cheaper materials or simpler manufacturing operations. Yet, the use of low cost materials limits the maximum operating temperatures estimated for the collectors (stagnation) to values around 120 oC, easily attainable by any simple glazed solar collector. Higher performances, leading to higher stagnation temperatures as those observed for regular metal-based solar thermal collectors, would require high temperature polymers, at a much higher cost. The present paper addresses the manufacturing of a high performance solar thermal collector based in polymeric materials and includes a base thermal study, highlighting the different possibilities to be followed in the production of a polymeric collector, as well as a description of different temperature control strategies.

Novel second-stage solar concentrator for parabolic troughs

Conventional parabolic troughs can be combined with second stage concentrators (SSC), to increase temperature and pressure inside the absorber, making possible the direct production of steam, improving substantially the overall system efficiency and leading to a new generation of distributed solar power plants. To attain this objective, research is needed at the optical, thermodynamic, system control, and engineering levels. In what concerns the receiver of such a system, different practical solutions have been proposed recently and in the past for the geometry of the second stage concentrator: CPC type and others. In this work we discuss these solutions and we propose a new one, 100% efficient in energy collection while reaching a total concentration ratio which is almost 65% of the thermodynamic limit. This SSC has an asymmetric elliptical geometry, rendering possible a smooth solution for the reflectors while maintaining a reasonable size for the receiver.

Optical and thermal testing of convection reduction mechanisms in a new 1.2X CPC solar collector

A new non-evacuated solar collector of the CPC type, developed and manufactured in Portugal, is now commercially available. Its design features are unique and deserve a careful study, both of its optical and of its thermal characteristics. The optics is interesting given the unusual shape and the opportunity to test different convection suppression schemes and determine their impacts on the collectors optical performance. As for the collectors thermal behavior it is very interesting to test how simple (and potential marketable) different convection suppression ideas can improve an already very good collector from the heat loss point of view (FUL equals 4.0 W/( degree(s)C.m2)). In the course of the paper a brief description of the collector is given and testing results are presented for the testing carried out in the following situations: (1) (i) measurement of its optical and thermal performance (instantaneous efficiency curve) measured both in E.W. and N.S. collector orientation (the collector has a very wide acceptance angle allowing it to work in N.S. orientation and, thus, function in a thermosyphon mode like any regular flat plate collector, (ii) measurement of its angular acceptance function; (2) measurement of the instantaneous efficiency curve after the introduction of (i) a thin Teflon high transmissivity film below the glass cover, (ii) transparent insulation of the capillary type, inserted also under the glass cover, (iii) measurement of the acceptance angle function in this last situation. In this paper it is shown that the addition of the film reduces the heat loss coefficient by a factor of 1.3 W/( degree(s)C.m2) and the transparent insulation leads only to an improvement of 1.0 W/( degree(s)C.m2) in that same coefficient.

Tailored edge-ray concentrator for a solar furnace at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria

The use of two stage optical designs, with reasonably compact devices, is required for being close to the thermodynamic limit to optical concentration of solar collectors. In this work we will present the design and the first test results of a second stage concentrator to be added to the existing primary of the solar furnace of Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA), designed to improve the final concentration and to increase its working temperature. Different options have been considered, including CPC, CEC, Trumpet, Cassegrainian, and tailored edge-ray devices. For the geometry of the PSA solar furnace, the tailored edge ray comes closest to the thermodynamic limits. It also is the most suitable from a practical point of view.

Aluminum thin reflective films for evacuated CPC-type collectors

The efficiency of low concentration CPC type collectors depends greatly on the quality of the reflecting films used in the case of evacuated glass tub, specially shaped to become a low concentration CPC type collector, it is of great importance to have a mirror of good quality, namely with good reflectivity and adhesion as well as low degasing of the deposited films. In this paper a technique to obtain such reflecting film is described. Magnetron sputtering of an aluminum post cathode was used. Several configurations were tested and the design was optimized taking into account both discharge stability and industrial constraints, like equipment volume and energy consumption. Discharge characteristic, deposition rate and general features are shown. Film reflectivity dependence on discharge pressure is discussed. The results obtained are encouraging and foreseen to be easily industrialized.