Usage of Solar Energy in an Industrial Process

The current industrial sector is facing a complicated energetic scenario deeply influenced by the petroleum prices and availability. Any improvement of this situation draws on the combination of energy efficiency improvement and the use of renewable-type energies. The industrial use of renewable energies presents some drawbacks that have limited their establishment for the moment. Some of the renewable energy resources work intermittently (like the sun or wind) and the energy they provide is, often, of low intensity. Many industrial processes work in temperature intervals where solar thermal technology could supply a considerable amount of the total energy input at an acceptable price. Based on mathematical modeling, this work evaluates the viability of integrating a solar thermal system to the conventional energy structure of a dairy plant. Pinch methodology was used to develop the integration of the solar subsystem in the energy installation of the plant. As a result, it could be stated that the solar thermal energy potential for the studied industrial process was considerable and should be taken into account for future energy.