Use of Fresnel solar concentrator for sustainable steam generation in textile industry of Pakistan

Textile and Leather industries require hot water and steam extensively in different processes. To generate steam and heat oil, these industries use natural gas and heavy furnace oil. Natural gas is contributing 43.2% & Oil is contributing 34.12% in Pakistan's energy mix. But, currently the country is facing extreme natural gas shortages and Oil prices in the past few years have exponentially increased. As an alternate source of energy in Pakistan, solar energy can be used as the geographical location of Pakistan suits harnessing solar energy. This paper presents the designing and modeling of solar concentrator using Fresnel mirrors to provide an alternate source for steam generation and hot water supply for the industry. Solar irradiation data for the concentrator at different solar angles is simulated using MATLAB to calculate an optimal angle and amount of solar irradiation present in the region and an angle of 30 degree was selected. To determine the temperature of the concentrator laboratory scale model on area of 2m2 was set up and series of experiments were performed and a temperature difference of 150°C was achieved at the exit of evacuated tube. COMSOL was used to simulate heat exchanger and steam at temperature 110°C was obtained during simulation.