An assessment of demand for industrial process heat, viability of solar thermal and sensible heat storage technologies in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Thermal energy accounts for more than 50 % of the total final energy being used worldwide. This is attributed to the demand of heat for domestic and commercial purposes which include water and space heating, electric power generation and industrial process heat. Most of this heat is obtained from fossil fuels which are the major drivers of global warming and climate change. The present study assesses the demand for low temperature thermal energy for some typical industrial processes and analyse the potential of adopting solar thermal technologies and sensible heat storage systems in Zimbabwe. A survey was conducted to gather data on heat requirements for various industrial processes including, food processing, chemical and beverage production, agro-processing, and mining. TSOL and Systems advisor model (SAM) software were used to simulate proposed solar thermal technologies to assess their feasibility as alternate source of industrial process heat. Also, literature data was used to assess the potential of utilising sensible heat storage systems to mitigate the intermittent nature of solar resources. Results revealed that it is technically and financially feasible to adopt solar thermal technologies for industrial applications in all the sectors considered in this assessment. It was found that cost effective, sensible heat storage technology can effectively address the discontinuous availability of solar thermal energy. In addition, heat storage systems were observed to have a great potential to enhance efficiency of existing heating systems through heat recovery methods.