Articles
Assessment of renewable energy integration in the tomato concentrate production process
Article number
1445_18
Pages
125 – 132
Language
English
Abstract
The tomato industry in Extremadura, Spain, currently has an average daily consumption of 20 GWh during the campaign, with a thermal power output of 80 MW from each facility.
This results in annual emissions of more than 14000 t CO2e.
This study will present an energetic analysis of the tomato concentrate industry process with the objective of identifying the most effective solution for reducing the significant CO2 emissions associated with this process.
An energy audit was conducted on the pilot plant of National Agrifood Technology Center (CTAEX) in order to evaluate the concentrate tomato process, including temperatures, pressures, power and energy demands.
Additionally, the integration of the pilot plant with thermo-solar energy and thermal energy storage has been analyzed to reduce the fossil fuels consumption for the production of steam, which is the heat transfer fluid used in the pilot plant.
The results indicate that the solar integration can be made with Fresnel solar panels due to the range of temperature required for the process, 140-160°C. A peak-shaving energy storage strategy is proposed, so the process is directly supplied by the solar field, while the storage is charged with excess heat throughout the day, and released when the sun goes down to extend operation.
The use of phase change materials as a thermal battery was also found to be the optimal thermal energy storage solution.
The integration has been decided to be central integration with direct steam generation.
This results in annual emissions of more than 14000 t CO2e.
This study will present an energetic analysis of the tomato concentrate industry process with the objective of identifying the most effective solution for reducing the significant CO2 emissions associated with this process.
An energy audit was conducted on the pilot plant of National Agrifood Technology Center (CTAEX) in order to evaluate the concentrate tomato process, including temperatures, pressures, power and energy demands.
Additionally, the integration of the pilot plant with thermo-solar energy and thermal energy storage has been analyzed to reduce the fossil fuels consumption for the production of steam, which is the heat transfer fluid used in the pilot plant.
The results indicate that the solar integration can be made with Fresnel solar panels due to the range of temperature required for the process, 140-160°C. A peak-shaving energy storage strategy is proposed, so the process is directly supplied by the solar field, while the storage is charged with excess heat throughout the day, and released when the sun goes down to extend operation.
The use of phase change materials as a thermal battery was also found to be the optimal thermal energy storage solution.
The integration has been decided to be central integration with direct steam generation.
Authors
L. Moreno, V. Collar, R. Sánchez, R. Silva, D. López-Pedrajas, K. Mushtaq, C. Sathiya, B. Pato, P.P. Andrada, B. Gallardo
Keywords
concentrate tomato, energetic analysis, solar integration, thermal energy storage, phase change material, PCM
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