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re: has anyone researched using solar for cement or pottery kilns?
31 may 2000
anthony matonak wrote:
>time and again i keep running across the idea that portland cement,
>and concrete made from it, is environmentally unfriendly... i wonder
>how difficult it would be to adapt existing solar thermal technology
>to provide for the majority of that energy.
tough to do economically, as i recall from a 1996 wrec-iv paper.
practical-sized solar furnaces tend to make tiny hot spots. otoh,
some cement kilns are heated by burning tires at high temps.
adding the tire steel to the cement is a plus.
>has anyone looked into using solar thermal for pottery kilns?
i've heard the thermal mass of the kiln and its insulation
is the problem. pricey low-thermal-mass space insulation
made with sapphire fibers could help.
>...it seems to me that a sufficiently large thermal storage running
>at temperatures higher than those required for the kiln could provide
>the heat required for nighttime operation.
it would be less challenging to build a solar-powered 24-hour pizza oven
to start with. not easy, if reasonably sized. as the thermal mass grows,
so does its volume and its heat-losing surface. how do we get the heat
into the mass without losing a lot through the "window"?
otoh, a restaurant in some sunny place might have a chef making burgers
under a concentrating skylight, tracking the focus around with an unlit
portable barbeque, in a central ring surrounded by ropes and diners :-)
nick
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