Solar Power Parabolic Trough Overview

Solar power parabolic trough systems use parabolic curved‚ through shaped reflectors or mirrors to focus the sun’s energy onto a receiver pipe. The receiver pipe runs at the focal point of the reflector. The parabolic shape of the mirror enable them to focus the sun to 30x – 60x its normal intensity onto the receiver pipe. The concentrated energy heats a heat transfer fluid (HTF)‚ usually oil‚ flowing through the pipe. This fluid is then used to generate steam which powers a turbine that drives an electric generator‚ which is comparable to the steam power plant process.

The parabolic trough collectors are situated on an east-west axis and rotated with the sun to maximize the sun’s energy input to the receiver tube.

Solar power parabolic trough systems have also been used as a supplement to traditional steam fired power plants. In this example‚ the heat transfer fluid is circulated to the boiler for steam generation replacing a fossil fuel.

 

Pump Applications
Heat Transfer Fluid