398 results about "Solar thermal energy" patented technology

A bioreactor and bioreactor system are suitable for the growth of materials from algae. More specifically, the system preferred embodiments use concentrated sunlight in a solo- or co-generation system to produce algae and products therefrom as well as solar thermal energy.

A method, apparatus, and system for a solar-driven chemical plant that may include a solar thermal receiver having a cavity with an inner wall, where the solar thermal receiver is aligned to absorb concentrated solar energy from one or more of 1) an array of heliostats, 2) solar concentrating dishes, and 3) any combination of the two. Some embodiments may include a solar-driven chemical reactor having multiple reactor tubes located inside the cavity of solar thermal receiver, wherein a chemical reaction driven by radiant heat occurs in the multiple reactor tubes, and wherein particles of biomass are gasified in the presence of a steam (H2O) carrier gas and methane (CH4) in a simultaneous steam reformation and steam biomass gasification reaction to produce reaction products that include hydrogen and carbon monoxide gas using the solar thermal energy from the absorbed concentrated solar energy in the multiple reactor tubes.

A method to integrate collected solar thermal energy into the feedwater system of a Rankine cycle power plant is disclosed. This novelty uses a closed loop, single phase fluid system to collect both the solar heat and to provide the heat input into the feedwater stream of a regenerative Rankine cycle. One embodiment of this method of integrating solar energy into a regenerative Rankine power plant cycle, such as a coal power plant, allows for automatic balancing of the steam extraction flows and does not change the temperature of the feedwater to the boiler. The concept, depending on the application, allows for the spare turbine capacity normally available in a coal plant to be used to produce incremental capacity and energy that is powered by solar thermal energy. By “piggybacking” on the available components and infrastructure of the host Rankine cycle power plant, considerable cost savings are achieved resulting in lower solar produced electricity costs.

An apparatus and a method is disclosed for storage of solar energy in a subsurface geologic reservoir. The method includes transferring concentrated solar thermal energy to a fluid, thereby generating a supercritical fluid. The supercritical fluid is then injected into the subsurface geologic reservoir through at least one injection well. The subsurface geologic reservoir may be a highly permeable and porous sedimentary strata, a depleted hydrocarbon field, a depleting hydrocarbon field, a depleted oil field, a depleting oil field, a depleted gas field, or a depleting gas field. Once charged with the supercritical fluid, the subsurface geologic formation forms a synthetic geothermal reservoir.

At an absorber station, CO₂ is absorbed from a gas stream into a suitable solvent whereby to convert the solvent into a CO₂-enriched medium, which is conveyed to a desorber station, typically nearer to a solar energy field than to the absorber station. Working fluid, heated in the solar energy field by insolation, is employed to effect desorption of CO₂ from the CO₂-enriched medium, whereby to produce separate CO₂ and regenerated solvent streams. The regenerated solvent stream is recycled to the absorber station. The CO₂-enriched medium and/or the regenerated solvent stream may be selectively accumulated so as to respectively optimise the timing and rate of absorption and desorption of CO₂ and/or to provide a storage of solar energy.

The invention relates generally to framing systems and more particularly is concerned with systems adapted to mount panels or laminates in an array (12) on a supporting roof structure (10) of a building exemplified with the mounting of solar electric photovoltaic (PV) panels. The framing system described uses extruded elongate elements with a sealing element (37) to frame the PV panel as a weatherproof PV solar roof tile. Individual frame element profiles effectively embody the PV building integration (BiPV), or mounting method, of the solar tile within the frame itself. Only a few additional flashing components are needed to complete the PV tile array as part of the roof, or with minor variations, as a PV wall cladding. Full BiPV panel mounting methods show potential to be used for co-generation (PV/T) of solar thermal energy capture in buildings. The batten support structures (11) of the solar tile permit variation in roof batten spacing to be tolerated in retro-fit situations, make trafficable roof with the tiles possible and provide long term weather-ability as a building element through moisture reduction by air flow and smaller surface contact. Draining of internal roof condensate from the back of the tiles to the exterior is another feature of the frame system described.

A logic boiler that consists of a concentrated solar energy boiler, a thermal storage system, and a traditional fossil fuel boiler is replacement of the traditional fossil fuel boiler in a power plant for solar thermal electric power generation. The thermal storage system or fossil fuel boiler compensates the output steam of the solar energy boiler to provide on demand, reliable and regulated steam for steam turbine. The controls sequences provide results that maximize the output of the solar boiler while provide the regulated and fast responded steam to the turbine. The control sequences also provide an algorithm to store excessive thermal energy from the solar energy boiler into the thermal storage system. The power plant sees the logic boiler as a conventional boiler without knowing the details of working sequences between the solar boiler and fossil fuel boiler or thermal storage.

A novel combination of technologies from the fields of coffee roasting and solar-thermal energy collection enables the roasting of coffee beans by means of available solar energy with maximized efficiency. A solar receiving plate is provided configured to receive and convert solar radiation to thermal energy for heating a volume of air. A roasting chamber is provided configured for receiving and circulating the heated air from the solar plate. At least one valve is provided configured to be in at least one of a closed position and an open position for controlling at least one of air inflow and outflow into at least one of said solar receiving plate and said roasting chamber.

A high-efficiency residential solar thermal power plant for economically generating power from solar-thermal energy, using a parabolic trough mirror having a longitudinal focal axis, for concentrating sunlight, a timer rotator for rotating the mirror about the focal and longitudinal rotation axis to follow the sun, and a heat collector surrounding a flow channel that preferably has an oblong cross-sectional shape with a major axis aligned with a longitudinal plane of symmetry of the parabolic trough mirror. The heat collector is coaxially positioned along the focal axis of said mirror to receive concentrated sunlight so that a working fluid is heated and provided for use through an outlet end of the heat collector.

The invention relates to a high-capacity combination type solar thermochemistry cascaded heat storage device and solar energy application. The high-capacity combination type solar thermochemistry cascaded heat storage device comprises a solar heat collector, a solid-gas chemical reactor, a refrigerant liquid storage device and a cooling towel. Three heat storage slat absorbing agents are filled inside the solid-gas chemical reactor. Under the same working pressure, desorption equilibrium temperatures of the three heat storage salt absorbing agents decrease gradually in the flowing direction of heat exchanging fluid and the three heat storage salt absorbing agents are distributed in a cascaded mode. Thermochemistry absorption heat storage is utilized, and multiple reaction salts of different temperature zones are adopted so that the defect that in an existing solar energy thermochemistry heat storage device, reactants cannot conduct thermal decomposition reaction at a certain moment due to the fact that the temperature of collected solar heat energy is low is overcome. Therefore, a novel solar energy thermochemistry cascaded heat storage technology can reduce the influences of solar energy time volatility and can be better matched with solar heat energy, and high-efficiency heat storage of the solar heat energy can be realized through the cascaded combination of the heat storage reaction slats of different temperature zones.

The invention discloses a heliostat tracking control device and a tracking control method thereof, and the heliostat tracking control device comprises a remote control center, main controllers, transmission mechanisms, stepping motors and heliostat position feedback devices, wherein each heliostat position feedback device comprise an acceleration transducer and an absolute value encoder; each acceleration transducer is installed on the surface of a corresponding heliostat, and the absolute value encoder is installed on the output shaft of the corresponding transmission mechanism; the output end of each heliostat position feedback device is connected with the input end of the corresponding main controller; the remote control center is connected with each main controller; the output end of each main controller is connected with the input end of the corresponding stepping motor; and the input shaft and output shaft of each transmission mechanism are respectively connected with the output shaft of the corresponding stepping motor and the corresponding heliostat. By utilizing the heliostat tracking control device provided by the invention, the orbit of the sun can be accurately tracked, the sunlight is effectively reflected to a heat collector, and the solar heat utilization ratio is improved.

A solar water heater includes a number of elongate water heating units which can be interconnected in series. The solar water heater can be installed vertically or inclined to have maximum solar exposure. Each water heating unit can utilize inner and outer glass tubes, which may or may not be a twin glass tube, to collect and conserve solar thermal energy inside. An inner metal water container extends through an opening in the inner and outer glass tubes. Heat transfer elements can be inserted between the inner tube and the metal water container. The solar water heater can work on natural convection and city water pressure.

A system or methodology for converting thermal energy obtained from solar thermal, photovoltaic, geothermal or industrial waste heat into electrical power is disclosed. The energy efficient way of transferring two steams of liquid solutions containing different concentrations of ionic species is disclosed. The combination of thermal gradient in addition to concentration gradient to improve efficiency, reduce or avoid fouling is disclosed. This invention describes a method of efficient ion migration from concentrated stream to dilute stream thereby improving DC power generation process. The utilization of solar thermal energy from solar collector or concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) generator system or solar thermal power generation (CSP) system provides the additional driving force for ions transport from concentrated stream to dilute stream, apart from the concentration grading to generating power. The thermal power is also used to bring back the diluted steam to original concentration in the reverse Electro dialysis system. The utilization of CPV process heat or solar or waste heat for bringing back the dilute stream into the concentrated stream for next operation of ions gradient power generation is also disclosed in this invention.

Solar energy collection and storage systems and processes of using such systems. Non-direct solar energy collection and storage systems can generate electricity from solar radiation using a solar thermoelectric generator and at the same time capture solar thermal energy in a working fluid. The working fluid can then transfer the heat to a thermal storage medium where the heat can be retrieved on demand to generate electricity and heat a fluid. Direct solar energy collection and storage systems can store solar thermal energy in a thermal storage medium directly from solar radiation and the heat from the thermal storage medium can be used on demand to generate electricity and heat a fluid.

The invention relates to a solar thermochemical adsorption seasonal efficient energy storage device and method, and belongs to the technical field of solar thermal storage. When solar thermal energy is stored in summer, a solar thermal collector, a heating circulating pump, a heating switching valve and a solid-gas chemical reactor heat exchange coil are connected one another, a cooling tower, a cooling circulating pump, a cooling switching valve and a liquid accumulator heat exchange coil are connected one another, and solar efficient thermal storage is realized by converting solar thermal energy into chemical adsorption potential energy; and when solar thermal energy is released for supplying heat in winter, an internal reaction heat cascaded regeneration technology is carried out, a low-temperature reactor heat exchange coil, a heat regeneration circulating pump, a heat regeneration valve and a high-temperature liquid accumulator heat exchange coil are connected one another, a high-temperature reactor heat exchange coil, a heat supply circulating pump, a heat supply valve and a heat user are connected one another, and the warm-up heating to the outside through the stored solar heat is realized by converting chemical adsorption potential energy into thermal energy. Compared with the prior art, the device has the remarkable advantages that the energy storage density is high, the thermal loss is small during the seasonal energy storage period, the energy stored quality is enhanced, and the like.

The invention is a water generator device from air utilizing solar thermal energy and adsorption principle. The system is based on an adsorption refrigeration unit with Ether as a refrigerant and activated carbon as adsorbed. The required heat is generated from evacuated tube solar system and the heat sink is the atmosphere. The adsorption unit is an air-cooled refrigeration unit that can operate at relatively low hot water temperature (60-70° C.) and relatively high atmospheric temperature (30-40° C.). The water condensed from air is than driven through a simple water purification unit to assure its quality as drinking water. The very small electricity needed to operate the hot water and cold water pumps along with the filtration unit and the controller of the adsorption unit is generated from a small Photo Voltaic (PV) unit for stand alone systems.

Heat from a concentrated solar power source is applied to the conversion of carbonaceous materials such as heavy petroleum crude oils, coals and biomass to liquid hydrocarbons. The solar heat is applied to provide at least a portion of the process heat used in the high temperature, short contact time hydropyrolysis of the carbonaceous material which is supplied with hydrogen generated by a high temperature process such as high temperature steam electrolysis, the sulfur-iodine cycle, the hybrid sulfur cycle, the zinc-zinc oxide cycle or by methane steam cracking. The heat from the solar source may be used to generate electricity to operate high temperature steam electrolysis used in generation of the hydrogen. By the use of solar thermal energy sources, hydrocarbon resource utilization for process heat is eliminated along with carbon dioxide evolution associated with burning of the hydrocarbon resource to generate process heat. The substitution of zero carbon emission sources therefore offers the potential for significant carbon emission reductions in refinery operations where external process heat can be applied and effectively utilized.

This patent application discloses structure and use of concentrated solar thermal energy collector modules, installed individually, or in an array configuration. Because of the modular design, the individual collector modules are easier to manufacture, transport, and install. Systems of varying scale and varying thermal output may be built by custom arrangement of individual collector modules. Each module comprises a tiltable mirror array, a support frame for the mirror array, a heat absorption tube at a focal point of the mirror array, a parabolic mirror concentrator above the heat absorption tube, and two transparent protective panels coupled between the mirror concentrator with the support frame. The heat absorption tube may be a sealed heat tube, or a fluid circulation conduit. The mirrors are configured to be positionally adjusted to improve focusing of thermal energy and/or to track the changing position of the sun.