A scientific publication about SOLPART by DLR was published on 10 July 2019 in the international journal “Renewable Energy“.

Abstract

This paper discusses the techno-economic potential of solar thermal calciner technology in the cement industry. On the basis of a solar calciner test rig built at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), a solar cement plant is designed and the heliostat field is calculated. The energy balance in the solar calciner is analyzed and different scenarios are investigated. The achievable CO₂ avoidance rate for solar cement plants for the considered scenarios lies between 14 and 17%. CO₂ avoidance costs are 118 EUR/t in a conservative base case and can be as low as 74 EUR/t depending on the chosen direct normal irradiation (DNI), reactor efficiency and solar multiple.

A strong impact of the reactor efficiency on the costs was shown. Increasing the reactor efficiency by 15% points reduces the avoidance costs by 26%. Additionally, the CO₂ emission reduction potential is calculated for Spain through 2050. It was found that for solar calciners, replacing the fossil fuel in the conventional calciner, emission reductions in the Spanish cement industry range between 2 and 7% by 2050. Implementation of a controlled sequestration of the CO₂ in the solar calciner shows a big impact and emission reductions from 8 to 28% can be achieved.

Download the full publication here.