Proposal of Agro-Industrial Integration Heat Transport System Using High-Performance Medium for the Realization of a Sustainable Society

• Published in: Energies (Basel) 2022-02, Vol.15 (3), p.1211
• Main Authors: Matsuo, Seiji, Suzuki, Masaya, Shimazu, Teruaki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorbents; Adsorption; Agricultural production; Agriculture; agro-industrial integration; Alternative energy sources; Carbon dioxide; CO2 application; Dehumidification; Efficiency; Emissions; Environmental impact; Fuel oils; Greenhouse gases; HASClay; Heat; Heat transport; high-performance media; Horticulture; Hydration; Project benefits; Renewable resources; Simulation; Tomatoes; Transportation systems; Vegetables
• ISSN: 1996-1073; 1996-1073
• DOI: 10.3390/en15031211

The aim of this study is to propose an agro-industrial heat transport system from industrial to agricultural areas for horticultural facilities with high heat demand to fill the problematic gap in the current heat transport system, and to derive by simulation the conditions under which this system can be used economically as well as environmentally. In this study, HASClay was used as a high-performance medium. HASClay has the ability to supply carbon dioxide (CO2) at the same time as heat and dehumidify the inside of the house, so it can be expected to increase the yield in addition to reducing the environmental load by using heat. The simulation results show that the proposed system of supplying heat to a large greenhouse in HASClay in 20-ton containers would have an economic budget similar to that of the previous system, but with an environmental impact of about 80% less tomatoes and 84% less chrysanthemum fuel than the previous system of heating with fuel oil. On the other hand, the analysis showed that the power of the fan could be reduced as an improvement of the heat transport problem using HASClay. As a countermeasure, the use of natural energy and the change of the fan for heat supply from a damper system to an inverter system to control the air volume were considered. For transport to the 10a scale, which has environmental advantages, a system was proposed in which the heat from the HASClay is divided into mini-tanks and transported to stations envisaged in each region, where it is collected by the agricultural producers. In summary, the authors concluded that our proposal for an agro-industrial fusion system based on the transport of heat using HASClay is an effective method for the realization of a sustainable society. The environmental benefits of the project are likely to attract participation from the industrial sphere in order to meet future demands for CO2 reductions.