The decarbonization of heavy industry is one of the biggest challenges in fighting climate change because this sector consumes huge amounts of energy. For this reason, the use of fossil fuels is still the most cost-effective.
The industrial sector is responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new materials and processes that will be environmentally acceptable and, at the same time, economically competitive with coal, say experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Swiss researchers discovered a new environmentally friendly source of thermal energy for heavy industry. Solar energy can generate over 1,000°C, which is necessary for steel melting, cement production, and other uses.
Emiliano Casati, head of research at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, says their concept uses synthetic quartz to capture solar energy, a process known as the thermal capture effect.
Researchers have built solar receivers that concentrate and generate heat using thousands of mirrors to track the sun. The thermal capture device consists of a synthetic quartz rod to which an opaque silicon disc is attached as an energy absorber. When they exposed the device to an energy flux equivalent to the light from 136 suns, the absorber plate reached the temperature of 1,050°C, while the temperature at the other end of the quartz rod remained at 600°C.
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“Previous research only managed to show the thermal trap effect up to 170°C. Our research has demonstrated that solar thermal capture works not only at low temperatures but well above 1,000°C. This is crucial to demonstrate its potential for real-world industrial applications,” said Mr Casati.
He added that we needed to decarbonize energy in general to tackle climate change.
“People tend to only think of electricity as energy, but in fact, about half of the energy is used in the form of heat”, he added.
A study on this concept was published in the journal Device to demonstrate the potential of clean energy in fossil fuel-intensive industries.
