Optimization of solar assisted heating system for electro-winning process in the copper complex

Through various solar assisted heating systems installed worldwide, large industrial scale applications include a very small fraction and further research is still needed in this area. Electrowinning in the copper complex is an industrial scale process that needs thermal energy for electrolyte heating. In this work, for the first time, the techno-economical assessment of using solar energy for this application is performed. Sarcheshmeh copper mine, Kerman, Iran is selected as the case study. System components are modeled and the annual performance is evaluated. To economically optimize the collector arrangement and sizes of storage tank and solar farm, a single-objective as well as a multi-objective genetic algorithm is used. Then, the effects of type and orientation of collector and heat transfer fluid on the system performance are studied. Results demonstrated that a system of 5000-6000 square meters of collectors (depending on the selected collector), facing south, 150-250 cubic meters of stratified storage tank with a height to diameter ratio of three can supply 40-78% of the total heat demanded. This leads to around a 970 tonnes reduction in carbon dioxide emissions each year, which is quite significant, especially in terms of reducing global warming. Payback period varies between 6 and 10 years.