Solar metallurgy

From Open Source Ecology
Jump to: navigation, search
Ausra-type solar concentrator. Potential collector for solar process heat.

Very broadly defined, solar metallurgy includes both photothermal processes (e.g. photothermal iron reduction, photothermal concentrate titanium white waste acid) as well as photovoltaic processes (e.g. photovoltaic steel-making and preparation of pure iron by photovoltaic electricity). The benefit of photothermal energy is that working with metals often requires high temperatures, controlled atmospheres, and freedom from contamination. A solar concentrator (such as a heliostat) may provide these conditions.

Related pages on: Smelting, Foundry, Metal, Heliostat