Concentrating Solar Thermal Process Heat for Manganese Ferroalloy Production: Plant Modelling and Thermal Energy Storage Dispatch Optimization

Abstract

This paper investigates the economic benefit of incorporating solar-based preheating of Manganese ore before smelting in electric submerged arc furnaces. Manganese ore is smelted to produce Manganese ferroalloy, a key component in steel production. The smelting process is highly energy intensive, with temperatures up to 1600 °C. The paper discusses the developed methodology for determining the configuration of a concentrating solar thermal (CST) plant to produce high temperature process heat. The CST plant is sized to preheat the ore to 600 °C before it enters the smelter — currently ore enters at ambient temperature. The preheating leads to economic and environmental benefits by offering lower cost heat and reducing carbon emissions for the process.