Absolutely. Concentrated solar power (CSP) can be used to synthesize new materials especially those which are formed at high temperatures. It can be used for sintering,melting,vapor deposition processes. In short any manufacturing process or step that uses heat can benefit from CSP. We are talking about temperatures that easily cross 1500C with a concentrating lens and some designs even crossing 2000 degrees celcius.
CSP lens is just about as efficient, when all variables are factored in, as an industrial laser. And because sun is a broadband energy source,as opposed to an industrial laser which usually radiates at only one wavelength CSP has an added advantage of activating surface under treatment. There's a greater chance for the material to absorb high energy solar wavelengths better than laser where it has to work with only one wavelength,usually lower energy. This leads to an improved energy efficiency.
Although this idea is not new it has gained importance due to the current impetus on finding clean manufacturing technologies.
The research paper "Gemma Herranz and Gloria P. RodrÃguez (2010). Uses of Concentrated Solar Energy in Materials Science, Solar Energy, Radu D Rugescu (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-307-052-0, InTech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/solar-energy/uses-of-concentrated-solar-energy-in-materials-science" goes into detail about how concentrated solar power can be used for high temprature material synthesis.
"Tremendous advances have been made in the development of new materials capable of working under extreme conditions possible due to the development of Materials Surface Engineering. The utilisation of techniques based on high density energy beams (laser, plasma, electron beam or arc lamps) in surface modification and metallic material treatment allow for the creation of non-equilibrium microstructures which can be used to manufacture materials with higher resistance to corrosion, high temperature oxidation and wear, among other properties. All of these techniques suffer from low overall energy efficiency. While it is true that the energy density obtained through a laser is three to four magnitudes greater than that which is obtained by solar energy concentration facilities, Flamant (Flamant et al. 1999) have carried out a comparison of the overall energy and the capital costs of laser, plasma and solar systems and came to the conclusion that solar concentrating systems offer unique opportunities for high temperature transformation and creation of materials from both the technical and economic points of view. The benifits are not limited to synthesis alone. The use of concentrated solar energy could also lower the cost of high temperature experiments.
Combined with the wide array of superficial modifications that can be carried out at solar facilities, there are numerous other advantages to using this energy source. The growing (and increasingly necessary) trend towards the use of renewable clean energy sources, which do not contribute to the progressive deterioration of the environment, is one compelling argument. Solar furnaces are also excellent research tools for increasing scientific knowledge about the mechanisms involved in the processes generated at high temperatures under non-equilibrium conditions.
If, in addition, the solar concentration is carried out using a Fresnel lens, several other positive factors come into play: facility costs are lowered, adjustments and modifications are easy to carry out, overall costs are kept low, and the structure is easy to build, which makes the use of this kind of lens highly attractive for research, given its possible industrial applications. These are the reasons that justify the scientific community's growing interest in researching the possible uses of highly concentrated solar energy in the field of materials. But this interest is not new. At the end of the 18th century, Lavoisier (Garg, 1987) constructed a concentrator based on a lens system designed to achieve the melting point temperature for platinum (1773ºC). But it was not until the twentieth century that the full range of possibilities of this energy source and its applications to the processing and modification of materials started to be explored in depth. The first great inventor was Felix Trombe who transformed German parabolic searchlights used for anti-aerial defence during WW II into a solar concentrator. Using this device he was able to obtain the high temperatures needed to carry out various chemical and metallurgic experiments involving the fusion and purification of ceramics (Chaudron 1973). In 1949 he was able to melt brass resting in the focal area of a double reflection solar furnace which he constructed using a heliostat or flat mirror and a parabolic concentrator (50kW Solar Furnace of Mont-Louis, France). But his greatest achievement was the construction of the largest solar furnace that currently exists in the world, which can generate 100kW of power. The “Felix Trombe Solar Furnace Centre†is part of the Institute of Processes, Materials and Solar Energy (PROMES-CNRS) and is a leader in research on materials and processes. Another of the main figures in the use of solar energy in the materials field and specifically in the treatment and surface modification of metallic materials is Prof. A.J. Vázquez of CENIM-CSIC. His research in this field started at the beginning of the 1990™s, using the facilities at the AlmerÃa Solar Plant (Vazquez & Damborenea, 1990). His role in encouraging different research groups carrying out work in material science to experiment with this new solar technology has also been very important. The initial studies with CSE at the ETSII-UCLM involved characterising a Fresnel lens with a diameter of 900 mm, for its use as a solar concentrator (Ferriere et al. 2004). The characterisation indicated that the lens concentrated direct solar radiation by 2644 times, which meant that on a clear day with an irradiance of 1kW/m2 the density of the focal area would be 264.4 W/cm2 . This value is much lower than this obtained with other techniques based on high density beams, but is sufficiently high to carry out a large number of processes on the materials, and even a fusion of their surfaces.
The investigations carried out to date include processes involving the sintering of metallic alloys, surface treatment of steel and cast irons, cladding of stainless steel and intermetallic compound, high temperature nitriding of titanium alloys and NiAl intermetallic coating processing through a SHS reaction (Self-propagating high temperature synthesis). In the studies we have conducted to date we have seen a clear activating effect in CSE which results in treatment times that are shorter, and which add to the efficiency of the process as well as increase in the quality of the modified surface. This is due to, among other factors, the properties of solar radiation. The visible solar spectrum extends from the wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm where most metals present greater absorbance, making the processes more energy efficient. Although the use of solar energy for industrial applications suffers a disadvantage due to its intermittent nature, it should be noted that according to Gineste (Gineste et al. 1999) in Odeillo where the Felix Trombe Solar Furnace Centre is located, the peak value of the direct normal irradiation is 1100 W.m-2 and it exceeds 700 W.m-2 during 1600 hours per year and 1000 W.m-2 during only 200 hours per year. In Ciudad Real, Spain, at latitude 38°, the availability of the solar energy reported by the Spanish “Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia†(Font Tullot, 1984), is 11% higher than in Odeillo. Direct solar radiation measured with a pyrheliometer between 19 June and 31 August, 2009, at the ETSII-UCLM (Ciudad Real, Spain) registered values higher than 950W.m-2 for 20% of the days and higher than 800 W.m-2 for 97% of the days. The peak value has been attained in this period was 976 W.cm-2 .
Concentrated solar energy (CSE) represents an alternative to other types of energy beams for treating and modifying the surfaces of metallic materials. This technique is breaking new ground in the use non-contaminating and environmentally acceptable technologies for processes involving the surface modification of metallic materials at high temperatures. It is also increasing scientific knowledge about the mechanisms involved when processing materials at high temperatures under non-equilibrium conditions. In the studies carried out to date, it has been observed that CSE has a clear activator effect, which results both in shorter treatment times and therefore, in increased processing efficiency, and in improved quality of the modified surface. For high-temperature processes, concentrated solar energy has shown to be highly energy efficient and also competitive in terms of cost." It is especially suitable for developing countries like India, which has a high number of sunny days per year. Question is can we develop industrial applications for concentrated solar technology, especially now when energy-efficiency and environmental preservation have become top priorities?
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