Decarbonizing Industrial Processes with Thermal Energy Storage Parabolic Trough System
Authors: Kamel M. , Al Shamsi A. , Alblooshi N. , Alhashidi I. 
Published: November 2024

In a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) system, the sun's rays are reflected onto a receiver, which creates heat that is used to generate electricity that can be used immediately or stored for later use. The Objective of this paper is to use the CSP parabolic trough collector’s technology in the ADNOC Onshore fields to improve the efficiency of the gas fired boilers and support decarbonizing our operations to reach ADNOC’s Net Zero by 2045 strategic goal1.

This paper will introduce parabolic trough collectors, which generate thermal energy by concentrating solar radiation. By using a Heat Transfer Fluid, the thermal energy is collected then sent to heat exchangers at the separation column. Using a heat exchanger to heat the Heating Medium (Thermal Oil) directly would make the heating medium a storage vessel. This process is eliminating the need for burning gas as a source of thermal energy, while retaining the capability to switch back to natural gas boilers anytime, or to work in hybrid configuration. The intermittent in solar is overcome by storing the heat in molten salt, a well-established technology. Most solar plants have natural gas as back up, integrating CSP with natural gas infrastructure will provide a practical way of decarbonizing heavy industries gradually due to its compatibility with natural gas-oriented legacy assets. This would reassure stakeholders that operations would not be significantly altered, and if anything would offer further resilience due to having two sources of thermal energy.

The results of incorporating the CSP with Thermal Energy Storage (TES) parabolic trough technology are the elimination of 100% combustion related to CO2 emissions, increasing revenue by selling the gas rather than being consumed in the process, enhancing In-Country Value (ICV) goals, and eliminating the carbon taxes which are in the process of being approved in the UAE. Globally the price of gas can reach much higher than the internal cost within ADNOC which is at around 11.5 AED per MMBtu. For example, in 2022, the price of gas averaged 35 AED, for such a situation the system would generate 40% of its value in a year. The parabolic trough technology has been observed to be able to deliver much higher temperatures in Enhanced Oil Recovery and power generation at 380C. Making 270C an easier temperature to provide; therefore, the probability of success is much more likely than in the traditional CSP applications. No solution in the market provides all the results mentioned above in a single package. Usually, a tradeoff is required to achieve one or two of these results together.

The Novel aspect of this paper is showcasing how the recent advancement of CSP, Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF), and Thermal Energy Storage technologies have bridged the previous limitations of the technology of not simply being able to deliver energy needs during the day, but completely replacing fossil fuel within the many areas of the oil and gas operations, thereby drawing a practical, economically viable pathway to net zero.