Review of Polygeneration Schemes with Solar Cooling Technologies and Potential Industrial Applications

Abstract

The trend to reduce CO2 emissions in cooling processes has made it possible to increase the alternatives for integrating solar energy with thermal equipment whose viability depends on its adaptation to polygeneration schemes. Despite the enormous potential offered by the industry for cooling and heating processes, solar cooling technologies (SCT) have been explored in a limited way in the industrial sector. This work discusses the potential applications of industrial SCTs and classifies hybrid polygeneration schemes based on supplying cold, heat, electricity, and desalination of water; summarizes the leading SCTs, and details the main indicators of polygeneration configurations in terms of reductions on primary energy consumption and payback times. To achieve an energy transition in refrigeration processes, the scenarios with the most significant potential are: the food manufacturing industry (water immersion and crystallization processes), the beverage industry (fermentation and storage processes), and the mining industry (underground air conditioning).

Advancing the Industrial Sector Energy Transition with Hybrid Solar Systems: Evaluation of Small Winemaking in Ecuador

“…The cost reduction comes mainly from eliminating the battery pack from the photovoltaic system and replacing it with thermal storage [17]. Additionally, one of the advantages of air conditioning systems in the residential sector is that the demand for cooling tends to concentrate during summer, which is a substantial difference compared to the demand profile of the industrial sector [18]. In this sense, the industry during the manufacturing process requires temperature controls throughout the year, requiring a cooling supply even during winter months [19].…”

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-Based Polygeneration Systems in Residential Applications: A Review of Technology, Energy Planning and Guidelines for Optimizing the Design

“…In the literature, polygeneration systems and fuel cells are topics that have been receiving attention since the beginning of this decade. Many fuel-cell-based polygeneration system concepts have been reviewed for various applications, such as desalination [3,[5][6][7], industries [8], public services [9] and community-based power generation [10]. Among the reviewed literature, the prospect of polygeneration and its challenges are discussed quite prevalently [10][11][12].…”