{"id":144716,"date":"2024-05-29T07:23:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T05:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=144716"},"modified":"2024-05-23T13:00:52","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T11:00:52","slug":"using-solar-energy-to-generate-heat-at-high-temperatures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/using-solar-energy-to-generate-heat-at-high-temperatures\/","title":{"rendered":"Using solar energy to generate heat at high temperatures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.carousel.1179893634-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"The main component of the thermal trap is a cylinder made of quartz. In the experiments, it reached a temperature of 1050 degrees Celsius and glowed at this heat.\" class=\"wp-image-144780\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2;width:801px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.carousel.1179893634-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.carousel.1179893634-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.carousel.1179893634-150x75.jpg 150w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.carousel.1179893634-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.carousel.1179893634-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.carousel.1179893634-400x200.jpg 400w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.carousel.1179893634.jpg 1673w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The main component of the thermal trap is a cylinder made of quartz. In the experiments, it reached a temperature of 1050 degrees Celsius and glowed at this heat. \u00a9 ETH Zurich \/ Emiliano Casati<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A new thermal trap developed by researchers at ETH Zurich uses sunlight to reach a temperature of over thousand degrees Celsius.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The new technology minimises heat losses and thus makes it possible to generate this high temperature efficiently<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The approach could help to provide industrial plants with high temperatures and thus make these industries carbon neutral.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The production of cement, metals and many chemical commodities requires extremely high temperatures of over a thousand degrees Celsius. At present, this heat is usually obtained by combusting fossil fuels: coal or natural gas, which emit large amounts of greenhouse gases. Heating with renewable electricity is not an alternative, as this would be inefficient at these high temperatures. Although much of our economy and society will need to become carbon neutral in the coming decades, these industrial processes are likely to continue to be powered by fossil fuels for the near future. They are considered difficult to decarbonise.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers at ETH Zurich have now demonstrated, in the lab, a way to make these industries independent of fossil fuels. Using solar radiation, they have engineered a device that can deliver heat at the high temperatures needed for the production processes. The team led by Emiliano Casati, a scientist in the Energy and Process Systems Engineering Group, and Aldo Steinfeld, Professor of Renewable Energy Carriers, has developed a thermal trap. It consists of a quartz rod coupled to a ceramic absorber which, thanks to its optical properties, can efficiently absorb sunlight and convert it into heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In their lab-\u200bscale experiments, the team used a quartz rod measuring 7.5 centimetres in diameter and 30 centimetres in length. They exposed it to artificial light with an intensity equivalent to 135 times that of sunlight, reaching temperatures of up to 1050 degrees Celsius. Previous studies by other researchers have achieved a maximum of 170 degrees with such thermal traps.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.1286.1508405936-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the experimental thermal trap. It consists of a quartz rod (inside) and a ceramic absorber (outside). Solar radiation enters at the front, heat is generated in the rear area.\" class=\"wp-image-144778\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7777777777777777;width:772px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.1286.1508405936-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.1286.1508405936-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.1286.1508405936-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.1286.1508405936-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.1286.1508405936-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.1286.1508405936-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/05\/image.imageformat.1286.1508405936.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration of the experimental thermal trap. It consists of a quartz rod (inside) and a ceramic absorber (outside). Solar radiation enters at the front, heat is generated in the rear area. (Visualizations: Casati E et al. Device 2024, edited) \u00a9 ETH Zurich<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Large-\u200bscale solar concentrating technologies are already established at an industrial scale for solar power generation, for example in Spain, the US and in China. These plants typically operate at up to 600 degrees. At higher temperatures, heat loss by radiation increases and reduces the efficiency of the plants. A major advantage of the thermal trap developed by ETH Zurich researchers is that it minimises radiative heat losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">High-\u200btemperature solar plants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Our approach significantly improves the efficiency of solar absorption,\u201d says Casati. \u201cWe are, therefore, confident that this technology supports the deployment of high-\u200btemperature solar plants.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>However, detailed technical and economic analyses are still pending, he says. Such analysis is beyond the scope of the current experimental study, which the researchers have published in the scientific journal\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.device.2024.100399\"><em>Devicecall<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Casati is continuing his research to optimise the process. The technology could one day make it possible to use solar energy not only to generate electricity, but also to decarbonise energy-\u200bintensive industries on a large scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cTo combat climate change, we need to decarbonise energy in general,&#8221; says <strong>Casati<\/strong>. \u201cPeople often think of energy in terms of electricity, but we actually use about half of our energy in the form of heat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reference<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Casati E, Allgoewer L, Steinfeld A: Solar thermal trapping at 1,000\u00b0C and above. <em>Device<\/em>, 15. May 2024, doi:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.device.2024.100399\">10.1016\/j.device.2024.100399<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The production of cement, metals and many chemical commodities requires extremely high temperatures of over a thousand degrees Celsius. At present, this heat is usually obtained by combusting fossil fuels: coal or natural gas, which emit large amounts of greenhouse gases. Heating with renewable electricity is not an alternative, as this would be inefficient at [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":144782,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Instead of burning coal or oil to produce cement or steel, in the future solar energy could be used for this purpose. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a thermal trap that can absorb concentrated sunlight and deliver heat at over thousand degrees Celsius","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[10416,5627],"supplier":[277],"class_list":["post-144716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-circulareconomy","tag-energy","supplier-eidgenoessische-technische-hochschule-zuerich-eth-zuerich"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144716"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=144716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}