Solar process steam

In the long term, the growing need for water in hot regions can only be covered by seawater desalination plants, and these require enormous quantities of process heat. The solar thermal plants which Ferrostaal and its partners offer can generate the necessary steam inexpensively and without emitting CO2.

Solar process steam for industry

To view this content you need the Flashplugin. Download here

Be it the food processing industry, chemical industry, textile industry or capital goods industry, wherever goods are dried, cooked, baked, washed, pasteurised, sterilized, distilled, dyed or pressed, process heat is required – and in enormous quantities, too. Particularly in developing and threshold countries with their growing industries, this can result in two long-term problems: higher energy consumption means high costs, and a high environmental impact. Countries in regions that have abundant sunshine now have the opportunity to set up their industries on a sustainable basis: instead of coal, oil or gas, the sun can supply the energy required – free of charge and without any CO2 emissions. In industrial countries that enjoy abundant sunshine, solar process heat can play a significant part in reducing costs and protecting the climate.

Solar seawater desalination

In many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) there is an acute shortage of drinking water, and this situation is being aggravated by the growing populations and increasing industrialization. If conditions remain as they are, the yearly shortfall in drinking water will grow from 50 billion cubic metres today to over 150 billion cubic metres by 2050. Currently, the problem is being addressed by excessive use of the ground-water resources – a strategy which is not sustainable. Seawater desalination plants will enable this shortage to be eliminated on a sustainable basis. However, such plants require an extremely large amount of energy. Powering these plants with fossil fuels is not only expensive but also has an impact on the environment. For both economic and ecological reasons it is therefore good to employ solar thermal power plants for seawater desalination. The energy required is available in the countries concerned. The technology and know-how are provided by Ferrostaal and its partners.