Auto Turbocharger to Power Solar-Heated Air for Industrial Drying

An academic research team has created a one-of-a-kind method for providing direct hot air for drying operations using renewable energy by combining solar collectors with an automotive industry turbocharger.

“By the use of the turbocharger, a component generated for enhancing thermal engines like those found in vehicles, this is the first solar heat for industrial operations capable of directly photovoltaic air up to 300 ° c to 400 ° c without using thermal fluids,” explained mechanical engineer Antonio Famiglietti, a representative of the Thermal Design Association, Energy and Atmosphere Research Group.

The college’s engineering division works closely with a small engineering business, DEMEDE Engineering and Research, which focuses on radiant irradiation for industrial operations. Famiglietti is presently an R&D Engineer at Diomede, where he is focusing on commercialising the revolutionary solar heat technique as a Turbocharged Thermal Air Heater.

Direct air heating utilising parabolic trough or linear Fresnel is not currently used in concentrated solar engineering due to the enormous pumping power required by the air to flow through the glass tubes of solar collectors. However, the solution we propose overcomes this major disadvantage through the employment of a unique Brayton cycle design and the use of a turbocharger to eliminate extra power used for pumping.

How it works

The linear Fresnel solar field is connected to a turbocharger, which blasts hot air straight into the solar reception tubes for heating before it is given to the industrial heat-treatment process. The goal is to keep tech as basic as possible to keep prices down.

“A compressor improves air density, reducing velocities and pressure dips throughout the solar field and, as a result, the input power necessary to blast the air,” Famiglietti stated.

When the adequate temperature (450-550°C) is attained at its input, the turbine positioned at the solar field exit can supply compressing and pumping power, allowing the system to run without requiring external energy for pumping. An extra compressor is only required for transitory start-up and control. The compressor discharge air has a temperature range of 300-400°C and is suitable for use in downstream air-driven thermal manufacturing applications.

Solar collectors typically employ a liquid heat transfer fluid to transmit heat through the solar receiver pipes, and a heat exchanger is required to convert the heat to the air. However, because the turbo forces the air through the tubes rather than a heat transfer fluid and heat exchanger, this invention eliminates all of the construction, maintenance, and repair expenses of a heat transfer flow and heat evaporator.