US EPA

2836917 

Journal Article 

Study of Using Solar Thermal Power for the Margarine Melting Heat Process 

Sharaf Eldean, MA; Soliman, AM 

2015 

Yes 

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering
ISSN: 0199-6231
EISSN: 1528-8986 

137 

2 

0210041-2100413 

English 

25349463 

10.1115/1.4028367 

WOS:000350571600004 

The heating process of melting margarine requires a vast amount of thermal energy due to its high melting point and the size of the reservoir it is contained in. Existing methods to heat margarine have a high hourly cost of production and use fossil fuels which have been shown to have a negative impact on the environment. Thus, we perform an analytical feasibility study of using solar thermal power as an alternative energy source for the margarine melting process. In this study, the efficiency and cost effectiveness of a parabolic trough collector (PTC) solar field are compared with that of a steam boiler. Different working fluids (water vapor and Therminol-VP1 heat transfer oil (HTO)) through the solar field are also investigated. The results reveal the total hourly cost ($/h) by the conventional configuration is much greater than the solar applications regardless of the type of working fluid. Moreover, the conventional configuration causes a negative impact to the environment by increasing the amount of CO2, CO, and NO2 by 117.4 kg/day, 184 kg/day, and 74.7 kg/day, respectively. Optimized period of melt and tank volume parameters at temperature differences not exceeding 25 °C are found to be 8-10 h and 100 m(3), respectively. The solar PTC operated with water and steam as the working fluid is recommended as a vital alternative for the margarine melting heating process. 

process heat; solar thermal power; photovoltaic; parabolic trough collector