Ahmad, S.Q.S., Wieckert, C. and Hand, R.J. orcid.org/0000-0002-5556-5821 (2017) Glass melting using concentrated solar thermal energy. Glass Technology: European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part A, 58 (2). pp. 41-48. ISSN 1753-3554
Abstract
Glass melting using concentrated solar thermal radiation is demonstrated on the kilogramme scale using a high flux solar simulator (HFSS). The melting process involved a novel furnace design utilising a downward orientated concentrated solar beam coupled with back-up integrated electrical heating elements, which provided secondary heating to maintain a melt when the HFSS beam was unavailable (i.e. equivalent to cloudy conditions or at night). With 5·26 kW radiative power from the HFSS input to the furnace through a 6 cm diameter aperture, pelleted soda–lime–silica batches were melted. Repeated additions of ∼300 g of batch pellets were made to the melt with each ∼300 g addition requiring ∼15 min for the reactions to complete and the melt temperature to recover. This is equivalent to a glass batch melting thermal efficiency of 16% at a solar concentration ratio of 1857 suns. The areas of land required for the heliostat field and, for the electrical backup elements, photovoltaic field are shown to be significant for even moderate daily glass production tonnages.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Society of Glass Technology, 2017. |
Keywords: | Solar thermal; Glass; High temperature; Melting; Solar furnace; Process heat |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 15 Dec 2016 15:05 |
Last Modified: | 26 Jun 2017 14:02 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.13036/17533546.58.2.012 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Society of Glass Technology |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.13036/17533546.58.2.012 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:109438 |