Helio-bioethanol complex

Abstract

Results of research on possibility of long-term storage of solar energy in bioethanol are presented in this paper. The Ural Federal University is engaged in research and development of technologies related to the use of solar energy for the production of bioethanol as a motor fuel and as an intermediate energy carrier for the purposes of long-term storage and subsequent application in energy production. Solar radiation is used as the primary source of energy for this technology. Operation of solar collectors and solar concentrators in the natural climatic conditions of the Ural region of Russia has been experimentally studied, and quantitative characteristics and potential of solar energy input and efficiency of solar energy-to-ethanol conversion system are determined. The technology is based on an intermediate heat-transfer fluid fed from a thermal storage being heated first in solar collector and then in solar concentrator where it is driven to a higher temperature that cannot be achieved in a solar collector. Upon heating to the required temperature, the fluid transfers heat to the thermal storage. Energy from the thermal storage is consumed mainly for distillation and rectification of alcohol-containing mash. Ethanol is produced from sugar- or starch-containing biomass. In the latter case, saccharification of the primary biomass occurs using the residual heat from the slop left after primary distillation of the mash. The studies have shown that 415 liters of ethanol per year can be produced in conditions of Northern areas of the Russian Federation with the given amount solar energy input per square meter of the plant surface (with energy intensity of ethanol producing process at 10 MJ/L). © SGEM2017. All Rights Reserved.