Gulf Construction Online - Magic Dow fluid captures solar energy

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Magic Dow fluid captures solar energy

01 June 2016

The Dow Chemical Company is promoting its industry-leading Dowtherm A, a heat transfer fluid which enables the capture of solar thermal energy in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants.

Earlier this year, major plants in Morocco and South Africa supplied by Dow came online, increasing the number of plants using Dowtherm A fluid to 45 and securing Dow’s position as a key provider in Africa.

Combined, these plants can provide enough electrical generation capacity to meet the needs of more than one million homes, equal to a saving of approximately five million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

“We have a great story to tell about how Dow can help solve the most pressing needs related to renewable energy,” says Marta Gomez, Dow market segment manager. “The strong reputation Dow has gained in sustainability, combined with our existing success in delivering Dowtherm, has opened doors for us to support the rapid growth of the region’s CSP market.”

In addition, Dow’s technical support and services team has helped make Dow an industry leader in supplying heat transfer fluids for CSP around the world.

CSP uses parabolic mirrors to reflect and magnify heat from the sun onto a closed circulating loop containing Dowtherm A heat transfer fluid. The fluid collects the heat energy and transports it to a power station where it is used to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity.

A company spokesman says solar power technology like CSP offers many advantages in regions that require new reliable sources of energy. The technology helps diversify energy supply, is capable of producing power during periods of peak demand, and reduces dependence on fossil fuels.

“When used instead of fossil fuel generation plants, CSP facilities offer improved air quality and can help many nations to address off-set goals for carbon emission produced by existing fossil fuel power plants. Unlike photovoltaic solar power and wind energy technologies, CSP plants can operate in conjunction with cost-effective thermal storage technology to deliver energy on-demand, making CSP a highly flexible source of renewable energy.”

For more than 80 years, Dowtherm A has proven to be the most thermally stable synthetic organic fluid under the sun, capable of withstanding temperatures as high as 400 deg C to collect, transport and store heat in CSP systems, while operating in either liquid or vapour phase. The extreme temperature capabilities of Dowtherm A enable this versatile, high purity fluid to operate for several years with excellent and consistent thermal stability, as well as improved overall fluid life. Moreover, the low viscosity of the fluid throughout its operating temperature ensures strong system efficiency and pumpability, the spokesman says.

Dow recently took part and sponsored the eighth Middle East and North Africa Solar Conference and Expo (Menasol) held in Dubai, UAE, last month (May 25-26) where it showcased these solutions.