Techno-economic and environmental feasibility analysis of solar industrial process heating systems in textile industries of Bangladesh

• Published in: International Journal of Thermofluids Vol. 20; p. 100459
• Main Authors: Rahman, Md. Ashiqur, Shoieb, Salahuddin, R.R.M., Salehin, Sayedus, Karim, Md.Rezwanul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Process heating; Solar energy utilization; Solar industrial process heating; Solar thermal energy; Sustainability; Sustainable energy; Process heating; Solar thermal energy; Solar industrial process heating; Solar energy utilization; Sustainable energy; Sustainability
• ISSN: 2666-2027; 2666-2027
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijft.2023.100459

•Effectiveness of solar industrial process heating is examined for Bangladesh.•A case study for a textile factory is shown, with a payback period of 13.58 years.•Energy use and CO2 emissions could be reduced by up to 14.7% during the summer.•Annual heat gain for different mass flow rate and available area is presented.
Taking into account the energy crisis and concerns about the effect of burning fossil fuels on the environment, the utilization of renewable energy technologies is being promoted extensively. Despite having significant potential, the feasibility of utilizing solar thermal energy as industrial process heat in Bangladesh is yet to be assessed and this paper aims to fill this research gap. In current work, the viability of utilizing solar thermal energy in Bangladesh for industrial process heating is investigated by parametric analysis considering thermal, economic, and environmental factors. Effect of mass flow rate and inlet temperature on overall heat loss coefficient is studied. The heat gain with respect to the available area for different mass flow rates is presented which can be used as a guideline to determine the capacity of an installed system. A case study is presented for an operational textile factory in Mymensingh to realize the potential of solar industrial process heat using flat plate solar collectors. Energy savings might reach up to 14.7% in summer and around 9% in winter which also leads to reduction of CO2 emission to the same percentage. The payback period has been found to be 13.58 years.