Smelting Steel Without Fossil Fuels: Solar Power Shatters the 1,000°C Barrier for Industrial Heating

The main component of the thermal trap is a cylinder made of quartz. In the experiments, it reached a temperature of 1050 degrees Celsius and glowed at this heat. Credit: ETH Zurich / Emiliano Casati

Instead of burning fossil fuels to reach the temperatures needed to smelt steel and cook cement, scientists in Switzerland want to use heat from the sun. The proof-of-concept study uses synthetic quartz to trap solar energy at temperatures over 1,000°C , demonstrating the method’s potential role in providing clean energy for carbon-intensive industries.

Illustration of the experimental thermal trap. It consists of a quartz rod and a ceramic absorber . Solar radiation enters at the front, heat is generated in the rear area. Credit: Casati E et al. Device 2024, editedTo boost the efficiency of solar receivers, Casati turned to semitransparent materials such as quartz, which can trap sunlight—a phenomenon called the thermal-trap effect.

Source: Tech Daily Report (techdailyreport.net)

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