Solar industrial steam production for soap manufacturing factory: A feasibility study

Industrial use of electricity in South Africa accounts for the largest consumption fraction, and the industry has the least renewable energy resource penetration rate. In the soaps manufacturing industry, steam is used to dry the semi-liquid soap mixture into solid noodles in the dryers. This process consumes 63047tons of steam per year, and the steam is produced by boiling water in the boiler heated using biomass and heavy fuel oil (HFO). Feasibility of the system to produce industrial steam using solar energy was to be determined using two platforms: Cost feasibility and Area feasibility. Area feasibility refers to the determination of whether the space available for collector field installation can match the area required to meet steam load. The optimized simulation showed that the required collector area was 17500m², while the maximum available area on the roof was 12000m², which implies that the space would not fit the required installation. As for the cost feasibility, the system has to have a payback period of less than 5 years for it be considered feasible and thus can be funded. The cost of installation was estimated to be USD $4 million, with an annual savings rate of $329000, hence a payback period of 12.1 years, which would be regarded as a long period of time for a savings project, therefore would be difficult for it to be approved by the factory administration as it is considered that a payback period of at most 5 years is favorable and the investment would be approved.