Sensorics for monitoring of soiling on surfaces
Reducing water consumption associated with cleaning mirrors at concentrated solar power plants (CSP).
Tekniker is addressing three developments related to cleaning operations for the purpose of using less water.
The goal consists in minimising water consumption at concentrated solar power plants (CSP) and Tekniker has developed three technologies to significantly lessen the amount of water used when preventing fouling and cleaning mirrors at thermal solar power plants.
Firstly, the organisation has developed anti-fouling coatings for reflecting mirrors. When anti-soiling coatings are applied, the amount of dirt that accumulates on mirrors can be reduced by up to 50%. This means that cleaning requirements can be reduced together with the amount of water to be used.
The second development concerns a fouling sensor fitted on parabolic mirrors at CSP plants to continuously monitor the degree of fouling and optimise the frequency of cleaning operations.
Thirdly, the technology centre has developed an ultrasound system to clean parabolic mirrors that is installed aboard a truck to cover a complete collector module. This solution, that transfers ultrasonic vibrations via a thin layer of water, uses up to 600 times less water (a limited resource in arid zones where these power stations are built), removes dust particles smaller than a micron and prevents the loss of reflectivity resulting from the scratching produced by conventional cleaning tools such as brushes.