Newton Fund - Solar Fresnel-lens concentrator prototype for sustainable industrial steam generation

摘要：墨西哥是一个石油资源丰富的经济体，是世界上第12大石油生产国，这一点很重要。它的人口在20世纪80年代是6400万，今天是1.32亿，这些巨大的增长主要归功于汽车制造、纺织、化工和集约化农业等行业的经济增长，这些都是由廉价能源的可用性和低工资驱动的，特别是与邻国美国相比。直到最近，能源市场完全由政府所有的电力公司CFE控制，现在这种情况已经改变，因为墨西哥政府的政策改革，现在允许商业公司进入能源市场，现在已经放松管制。墨西哥能源市场的构成：1；石油45% 2。气体41% 3。化石4 7%。水电5 4%。可再生能源6 2%。核能1%墨西哥政府承诺，到2030年将减少40%的碳足迹，目前仅为21%，看看他们的能源市场，很容易看出原因，因为墨西哥拥有丰富的自然资源，包括石油和天然气，这两种资源在用于发电时都会产生大量的二氧化碳，而这种能源实际上并不昂贵。然而，最近政府发生了变化，政府制定了雄心勃勃的经济、社会和政治改革计划，这些计划可能对使用可再生能源技术产生积极影响，特别是太阳能光伏和太阳能热发电，这两项技术都将帮助墨西哥实现联合国制定的可持续发展目标。Solfress项目面临的挑战是通过使用菲涅耳透镜从太阳中获取能量，以开发太阳能热发电机，产生蒸汽和热水，也可用于冷却、太阳能灌溉和废水处理，从而证明一项无碳足迹技术的好处。这种技术的多样性在农业、食品加工、水处理厂、酒店、医院、用于巴氏杀菌的乳制品、猪肉生产、纺织品、化学品等领域有许多用途。团队在设计和制造这个系统时遇到了许多挑战，所有这些都是在墨西哥完成的，在伦敦玛丽女王大学和墨西哥工程研究所的学术支持下，各公司都有专业知识和材料供应。该工厂在预算范围内按时完工，并经过了测试协议以实现其目标。为了进入墨西哥的能源市场，这将通过在特定地点使用已建立的当地商业合作伙伴来实现。这种绿色可持续技术将在墨西哥廉价生产，创造就业机会，使人们摆脱贫困，使他们的生活方式得到极大改善。这种技术通过创造更好的医疗保健和延长预期寿命的遗产，对环境和社会产生积极影响。使用这种技术是一种真正具有成本效益的替代石油或天然气的方法，即使在偏远地区也很容易安装，或者使用集装箱形式进行救灾。

Abstract:It is important to understand that Mexico is an oil rich economy being the 12th largest producer in the world. Its population in the 1980’s was 64 million today it is 132 million these huge increases have mainly been attributed to the economic growth of industries such as automobile manufacturing, textiles, chemicals and intensive farming all driven by the availability of cheap energy and low wages particularly compared to their near neighbour the USA.The energy market until very recently was completely controlled by CFE the government owned electricity company now this situation has changed due to reforms of policies by the Mexican government that now allows commercial companies to enter the energy market which is now de-regulated.The make up of the Mexican energy market:1. Oil 45%2. Gas 41%3. Fossil 7%4. Hydro 4%5. Renewables 2%6. Nuclear 1%The Mexican government has pledged that it will reduce its carbon footprint by 40% by 2030 this is currently only 21% and looking at their energy market it is easy to see why because Mexico has an abundance of natural resources including oil and gas both of which create large amounts of carbon dioxide when used for energy generation and in real terms this energy is not expensive. However, there has recently been a change of government which has ambitious plans for economic, social and political reforms that could have positive impacts on using renewable energy technologies particularly Solar Pv and Solar Thermal both of which will help Mexico achieve its Sustainable Development Goals as set out by the UN.The challenge for the Solfress project was to demonstrate the benefits of a technology that has NO carbon footprint by using Fresnel lenses to derive energy from the sun for the development of a solar thermal generator that produces steam and hot water which can also be used for cooling, solar irrigation and treatment of wastewater. The diversity of this technology has many uses in agriculture, food processing, water treatment plants, hotels, hospitals, dairies for pasteurization, pig meat production, textiles, chemicals and many more.There were many challenges for the team to design and manufacture this system which was all done in Mexico using various companies who had the expertise and supply of materials along with academic support from Queen Mary University in London and the Institute of Engineering Research in Mexico. The plant was completed on time within budget and has undergone testing protocols to achieve its objectives.To gain access to the energy markets in Mexico this will be achieved by using established local commercial partners in specific locations working on a licence basis. This green sustainable technology will be manufactured cheaply in Mexico creating jobs and moving people out of poverty and enabling them to live greatly improved lifestyles. Such a technology has only positive impacts on the environment and society by creating a legacy of better healthcare and increased life expectancy. The use of this technology is a truly cost effective alternative to using oil or gas and is easily installed even in remote areas or for disaster relief using the containerized format.