Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 10851091

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

A review of solar parabolic trough collector

V.K. Jebasingh, G.M. Joselin Herbert n
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Noorul Islam University, Kumaracoil, Thuckalay 629180, India

art ic l e i nf o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 9 December 2014
Received in revised form
29 July 2015
Accepted 21 October 2015
Available online 11 November 2015

Solar energy is one among the freely available clean forms of renewable energy. Many technologies have
been developed in India for extracting energy from assorted renewable energies, but the maximum
extraction of thermal energy from solar energy is the most promising challenge. This paper focuses on
the performance and efciency of solar parabolic trough collector. It also reviews the pertinent applications of solar energy such as air heating system, desalination, refrigeration, industrial heating purposes
and power plants. This paper will be useful for researchers concentrating on solar energy using parabolic
trough collector.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Parabolic trough collector
Performance analysis
Efciency
Desalination and power plant

Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Performance analysis of parabolic trough collector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thermal efciency of solar parabolic trough collector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Applications of solar energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.
Solar energy as air heating system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.
Solar energy for desalination process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.
Solar energy in refrigeration system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4.
Solar energy for industrial purposes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.5.
Solar energy in power plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Introduction
In modern era many countries started running behind renewable energy due to the scarcity of non-renewable energy, for various applications such as air heating, desalination, refrigeration,
small scale and large scale industries and electric power generation. Although many developments are there for extracting the
energy from various renewable sources, still most energy efcient
techniques are to be constructed for trapping maximum energy.
Solar energy is the most abundant source of energy which has
been readily available in earth for thermal power generation, the
n

Corresponding author. Tel.: 91 9442381611.

E-mail addresses: jebasingh.vk@gmail.com (V.K. Jebasingh),
joselindev@yahoo.co.in (G.M.J. Herbert).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.043
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1085
1086
1087
1087
1087
1087
1088
1088
1089
1089
1090

lighting of houses and for industrial heating applications. Since

scientic research and technology have been developed for the
past few decades, the solar energy is becoming the most promising source of energy. Several developing countries have high level
of solar radiation and countries like India, Egypt, Morocco and
Mexico are moving to concentrating solar power for electricity.
According to the Central Energy Authority of India on February
2014 the total installed capacity for electricity generation was
237,743 MW and the various sources are shown in Fig. 1. India
requires a peak demand of 132,507 MW whereas peak met is
128,083 MW. Also, specically, the state of Tamil Nadu has a peak
demand of 935 MW electricity. Fig. 2 shows the electricity generation by in South India and includes ve states namely Andra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry showing a
solar energy generation of about 13,127 MW of electrical energy.

1086

V.K. Jebasingh, G.M.J. Herbert / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 10851091

Fig. 1. Electricity generation in India from various energy sources [1].

Fig. 3. Electricity generation in Tamil Nadu from various energy sources [1].

Fig. 2. Electricity generation in South India from various energy sources [1].

Fig. 3 specically shows Tamil Nadu's contribution for electricity

generation which shows 7946 MW of electricity generation [1].
In India an environmental analysis has been conducted in 58
places for the solar trough power plants [2]. India receives more
than 5000 trillion kW h per year of solar energy with average daily
global radiation of around 5 kW h/m2 per day [3]. According to a
National Renewable Energy Laboratory survey on April 2013,
South India received an average of above 7.5 kW h/m2 of solar
radiation per day during December, January and February [4].
Currently many countries have started solar power plants for
power generation and in a few years almost all countries will run
in solar power. As per the Energy and Resources Institute India's
current electricity capacity is 13,402 MW and by 2030 a electricity
generation capacity of around 800,000 MW will have to be produced with a high contribution from renewable energy [5].
The solar collector has the capability to absorb the solar
radiation and convert it to heat, transferring it to the working
uid. The working uid may be air, water, oil or some organic
solvents. The heat energy which is in the form of thermal energy
in the working uid of the solar collector can directly be utilized
for different applications. Solar collectors are of various types
namely, Flat-plate collector with reectors, Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC), Compound parabolic collector and Fresnel lens concentrating collector. Flat plate collectors are mostly used for hot
water generation because of its temperature range of about
120140 C. The efciency of solar at plate collectors was
improved by using spherical silicon solar cells [6]. In PTC the
temperature of the focal line or absorber tube can be as high as
350400 C. Solar collector's efciency is based on the concentration ratio which is the ratio of the effective area of the
aperture to the surface area of the absorber. Generally a traditional
power plant requires an enormous amount of non-renewable
energy sources such as coal or petroleum products, hence the
usage of surplus available renewable energy reduces the nonrenewable energy consumption resulting in a reduction of pollution. The extraction of excess available solar energy results in
future developments. Since the PTC has higher heat absorption

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of Solar parabolic trough collector.

than the at plat collector, the quests have been sought to do

further analysis on PTC.

2. Performance analysis of parabolic trough collector

Solar parabolic trough collector (SPTC) consists of an absorber
(working uid chamber), a concentric transparent cover and a
parabolic reector plate. The absorber is xed permanently at the
focus of the parabolic concentrator. The concentric transparent
cover is used to protect the absorber tube from the heat losses and
hence a vacuum pressure is maintained. The parabolic concentrator is placed on a rigid structure and the solar tracking
mechanism is placed on the rigid structure to track the solar
radiation by the parabolic concentrator. Fig. 4 shows the schematic
diagram of SPTC.
Garcia-Cortes et al. focused on the reecting plate with rigid
link of PTC and specied that the main factor for deformation of
solar collector is self-weight [7]. Numerous researchers have studied the design performance issues of solar PTC structures and
parabolic concentrator. Eckhard and Michael have studied the selfweight issues and done a performance enhancement by experimental prototype testing [8]. Vasquez Padilla et al. have done a
one dimensional heat transfer analysis on parabolic trough solar
receiver and concluded that the reduction of 41.8% of convective
heat loss result in an improvement of performances [9]. Edenburn
has done a performance study on cylindrical parabolic collector by
comparing theoretical evaluation with the experimental result
[10]. Naeeni and Yaghoubi have performed wind ow analysis on
PTC by changing the orientation of the collector with wind velocities of 2.5, 5, 10 and 15 m/s. The resultant force acting on the
collector structure was found to be normal and the pressure elds
acting around the collector are found 1520 times lesser than the
collector aperture area [11]. Rojas et al. have focused on a capillary
system on the absorber tube for direct steam generation which can

V.K. Jebasingh, G.M.J. Herbert / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 10851091

be used for many applications [12]. Kalogirou resolved the coupling of solar thermal power with the coal-based thermal power
plant and saved around 24% of coal consumption [13]. This analysis
gives encouragement and innovation on sustainable solar energy
development for policy matters, solar energy producers and
manufacturers of solar equipments.

1087

analysis of heat loss in the absorber tube showing that heat loss in
lost vacuum tube is about 40% higher than in the vacuum jacket
tube which results in a 35% decrease in the collector efciency
[30]. From the above reviews, the experimental results have been
validated by using FEM, CFD and parametric optimization methodology. These methods can be used for further research and
development on solar energy to improve its thermal efciency.

3. Thermal efciency of solar parabolic trough collector

4. Applications of solar energy
A brief review of thermal analysis on PTC is showed below.
Also, one of the main components in the solar PTC for the
improvement of efciency is the solar tracking system. The solar
tracking device keeps the PTC towards the sun direction all
through the day for receiving the solar radiation. Michael and
Eckhard have developed two high performance SPTC (Eurotrough
100 and Eurotrough 150) with the optical concentration ratio of
82:1 and operating temperature of over 500 C. They also did a
wind channel and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for analyzing the
geometrical structure of the collector and nally concluded with
the result of an additional thermal annual output of up to 20%
higher efciency [14]. Bakos has designed a two axis sun tracking
system for PTC, and has found that thermal efciency improvement and collector with moving surface has 46.46% more efcient
than the xed surface [15]. Valan Arasu and Sornakumar have
designed a ber reinforced plastic based solar PTC that resulted in
an improvement of thermal efciency and also in a reduction in
cost [3]. Jeter has done a performance analysis by considering
parameters such as optical efciency, concentration ratio for
absorber and concentrated ux density. The optical efciency
renement can only be done based on reection, transmission and
absorption properties of collector [16]. Optimization study has
been done for improving the heat transfer rate on the absorber
tube with parameters such as diameter, length and heat transfer
uid ux and intensity of incident radiation [17].
Parametric analysis shows the improvement of design properties like absorber emittance and absorptance inuences on the
collector efciency [18]. Lobon et al. have reported about the
behavior of direct steam generation considering water as working
uid by comparing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis
using package STAR CMM with the experimental result, which
showed better thermal efciency with a very small variation in
temperature of about 3 C and pressure losses of maximum
0.02 MPa [19]. You et al. have done a ow and heat transfer analysis using a nite difference method and the validation with
experimental result shows a better temperature range of above
300 C which directly improves the efciency [20]. Risi et al. have
made an innovative transparent SPTC which has been working
with gas based nanouids. The simulation shows a thermal efciency of 62.5%. They also reported that the temperature of
nanouid was about 650 C [21].
Generally existing absorbers are made of metal pipe and a
better coating around the absorber will improve both the solar
absorption ability and the low emittance coefcient and hence
thermal losses will be reduced this ultimately leads to maximize
thermal efciency [13]. Research regarding the aerodynamic
aspect of PTC and its heat transfer coefcient around the collector
has been conducted, studying the enhancement of thermal efciency [22]. A PTC plant also advances by using synthetic oil as
working uid for obtaining 400 C temperature range [23]. Studies
also focused on numerical analysis and evaluated the plant efciency with the experimental result [2428]. Heat transfer performance has been studied on the absorber tube of PTC considering synthetic thermal oil as working uid and applying unilateral longitudinal vortex, which shows a thermal loss reduction
of 2.2313.62% [29]. Yaghoubi et al. have presented experimental

In the modern era solar energy usage has increased enormously

in all the domestic and industrial purposes. The applications of
solar energy are briefed below.
4.1. Solar energy as air heating system
The solar air heating systems are used for drying purposes in
textiles, marine foodstuffs and agriculture. It also plays a vital role
in the heating of buildings and renewing dehumidify agents. The
solar air heating system makes no adverse effect to atmosphere
since it is a green energy source. This energy is time dependent,
hence thermal storage systems are also used to improve the
enactment of the air heating process. There are three types of solar
air heating systems namely active, hybrid and passive systems
with or without storage systems. The further of them with storage
system uses two methods namely rock bed and Phase Change
Materials (PCM). Tyagia et al. have discussed about air heating
system with PCM. Their work shows that the latent heat storage
system is more precise than the sensible heat storage system [31].
The solar air heater with PCM based Thermal Energy Storage
System (TESS) stores energy by phase change from solid to liquid.
It recovered the energy during night or cloudy days through vice
versa. Generally hydrated salts (calcium chloride hexahydrate),
parafns, non-parafns and fatty acids are used as thermal energy
storage materials [3235]. The optimum physical properties of
phase change energy storage materials are determined by simulation techniques [3637]. Hammou and Lacroix have proposed a
New Hybrid Energy Storage System (HTESS) using phase change
materials to store solar energy during night or cloudy days for
reducing overload during high electric energy demand period.
Thus use of HTESS reduces electric energy during peak period also
consumption by house hold purposes diminishes by 32% and
nally more than 90% consumed only during off peak period [38].
Enibe designed and carried out performance evaluation on a single
glazed at plate collector passive solar air heating system using
PCM, experimentally in Nigeria. This system shows peak cumulative useful efciency of 22% at ambient temperature range of
1941 C with the maximum air ow rate of about 0.058 kg/s. It is
more successful for crop drying applications [39]. The thermal
storage air heating system is suitable for better utilization of solar
energy.
4.2. Solar energy for desalination process
The process in which the sea water is converted into fresh
water is referred as desalination process. Generally desalination is
done through a reverse osmosis method. Nafey and Sharaf have
analyzed different heat transfer uids on a combined solar organic
rankine cycle with Reverse Osmosis (RO) for the desalination
process. Toluene and water as heat transfer uids showed better
performance at superheated temperature compared to butane and
hexane [40]. The various working uids like dodecane, nonane,
octane and toluene are examined using parabolic trough collector
for extraction of heat from solar energy. In India Minjur seawater
desalination plant is the biggest desalination plant, and is working

1088

V.K. Jebasingh, G.M.J. Herbert / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 10851091

with reverse osmosis process. The cost of the plant is 5.51 billion
rupees and it produces 100 megalitres of water per day [41].
Sharaf et al. have performed an analysis on a combined solar
organic cycle with multi-effect distillation desalination process.
The system results in higher gain ratio and requires less area of
solar eld [42]. Karellas et al. have investigated a hybrid solar
thermal organic rankine cycle with general RO desalination system
to produce fresh water and electrical energy [43]. Mohamed and
Papadakis analyzed a stand-alone desalination plant working with
solar energy and wind energy. It produces the output capacity of
250 m3 of water per day [44]. Bruno et al. optimized an organic
rankine cycle with PTC using RO desalination system, nding
better results than only with a PTC system [45]. Hence the application of SPTC in a desalination process makes it more economical
and cost-effective compared to an electrically operation which
requires numerous electrical grids etc. Solar energy for desalination purposes nds good applications in making fresh water.
4.3. Solar energy in refrigeration system
The solar energy also nds a vast utilization in air conditioning
and refrigeration systems. In air conditioning, the dehumidication has to be done to reduce the air temperature below dew point
and to reheat the air for retaining the desired comfort level. AlAlili et al. have investigated the solar air conditioner using photovoltaic thermal collectors. The result shows that the releasing of
latent and sensible load leads to a better comfort for hot and
humid conditions [46]. The researchers conducted experimental
analysis on solar collector which conrm that the utilization of
solar energy for electrical and heating applications minimizes the
auxiliary energy usages [4748]. Kalogirou and Tripanagnostopoulos have explained the industrial applications of solar energy
systems. A temperature level of 6080 C is required to maintain a
steady thermal efciency of the system [49]. The optical performances of compound parabolic collector with the mono crystaline
silicone cells could increase by 20% the electrical output by using
optimized anti-reecting coatings and reectors [50,51].
An advanced adsorption refrigeration is an environmental
friendly refrigeration system. Researchers have done simulation
study in this area and found that the formation of decomposition
products such as dimethyl ether and methoxymethyl ether etc.
results on reducing the solar ice maker performance [52,53]. The
coefcient of performance of adsorption refrigeration has been
increased due to the recent advancement in optimization [5456].
Gang et al. analyzed an advanced low temperature solar thermal
electric system with two stage collectors and thermal storage
units. The heat collection efciency of this system has been
improved [57]. Hassan et al. developed a solar driven adsorption
system. It has the capacity of producing very low temperature
continuously [58]. Different working pairs such as carbon
methanol, activated carbon, ethanol, activated carbon bers
methanol, ammonia, silica gelwater and zeolitewater are being
used in the adsorption cooling system [5964]. Xu et al. investigated solar driven absorption refrigeration system with new
energy storage technology. It uses aqueous lithiumbromide as
working uid [65]. Studies have been conducted on photovoltaic
thermal collector using experimental, theoretical and numerical
methods. The collected solar energy is used in the eld of refrigeration systems [6670]. Tierney has analyzed both the single and
the double effect chillers with trough collectors. The double effect
chiller is more efcient than the single effect lithium bromide [71].
El Fadar et al. have studied an advanced solar absorption refrigeration system coupled with the heat pipe. The system gain energy
from solar by using PTC and this system is more efcient than
other refrigeration system without heat pipe [72].

Table 1
Temperature required for solar industrial process [74].
Industry

Process

Diary industry

Pressurization
process
Sterilization
Drying
Concentrate
Boiler feed water
Tinned food industry
Sterilization
Pasteurization
Cooking
Bleaching
Textile industry
Bleaching and dyeing
Drying and
degreasing
Dyeing
Fixing
Pressing
Paper industry
Cooking and drying
Boiler feed water
Bleaching
Chemical industry
Soaps
Synthetic rubber
Processing heat
Pre-heating water
Meat industry
Washing and
sterilization
Cooking
Beverages industry
Washing and
sterilization
Pasteurization
Flours and by-product industry Sterilization
Timber and by-product industry Thermo diffusion
beams
Drying
Pre-heating water
Preparation pulp
Bricks and blocks industry
Curing
Plastic industry
Preparation
Distillation
Separation
Extension
Drying
Blending

Required temperature (C)

6080
100120
120180
6080
6090
110120
6080
6090
6090
6090
100130
7090
160180
80100
6080
6090
130150
200260
150200
120180
6090
6090
90100
6080
6070
6080
80100
60100
6090
120170
60140
120140
140150
200220
140160
180200
120140

4.4. Solar energy for industrial purposes

Solar energy in industry swaps the huge consumption of
commercially available electricity. Some industrial processes such
as drying, sterilization, cooking, cleaning or degreasing and Pasteurization, etc. requires heat energy. In India around 15 industries
uses Solar Heat for Industrial Process (SHIP) which includes
5 industries from Tamil Nadu [73]. According to International
Energy Agency (IEA) currently 120 operating solar thermal system
for process heat are reported worldwide, with a total capacity of
about 88 MW (125,000 m2) [74]. The temperature required for
various industrial processes using solar energy is shown in Table 1
[76]. All the processes temperature required is less than 260 C.
The heat required for all the industrial processes is obtained from
solar energy. The solar PTC has the ability to capture temperature
of about 400 C [75]. Solar energy is being used for industrial
processes in various developing countries [77,78]. The PTC is also
used to collect solar energy for water heating purposes in restaurants [3]. Benz et al. presented two solar thermal system in
German regarding the heat generation applied for brewing and
diary industries [79].
Researchers also performed modeling and simulation analysis
on a parabolic trough solar plant for industrial process heating. For

V.K. Jebasingh, G.M.J. Herbert / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 10851091

1089

Table 2
Countries with maximum electricity generation capacity using solar [93].
Sl. no

Country

Name

Capacity (MW)

Remarks operational/Under construction

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

USA
USA
Spain
Spain
Spain
Spain
Spain
Spain
Spain
Spain
Spain
Spain
Spain
UAE
Spain
USA
India
India
India
India
India
India
India
India
India
India
China
China

Solar Energy Generating Systems

Solana Generating Station
Solaben Solar Power Station
Solnova Solar Power Station
Andasol solar power station
Extresol Solar Power Station
Palma del Rio Solar Power Station
Manchasol Power Station
Valle Solar Power Station
Helioenergy Solar Power Station
Aste Solar Power Station
Solacor Solar Power Station
Helios Solar Power Station
Shams
Termosol Solar Power Station
Nevada Solar One
Godawari Green Energy Limited
Acme Solar Thermal Tower
Dhursar
Diwakar
KVK Energy Solar Project
Megha Solar Plant
Gujarat Solar One
National Solar Thermal Power Facility
Abhijeet Solar Project
Gujarat Solar One
Jinshawan
e-Cube 1

354
280
200
150
150
150
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
64
50
2.5
125
100
100
50
25
1
50
28
27.5
1

Operating condition with 9 units of collectors

Operational with 6 h thermal energy storage
Solaben 1,2,3 and 6 Operational
Solnova 1, Solnova 3 and Solnova 4 Operational
Andasol 1, Andasol 2 and Andasol 3 Operational with 7.5 h thermal energy storage
Extresol 1,Extresol 2 and Extresol 3 Operational with 7.5 h thermal energy storage
Palma del Rio 1 and 2 Operational
Manchasol-1 and Manchasol-2 Operational with 7.5 h heat storage
Operational with 7.5 h heat storage
Helioenergy 1 Operational Helioenergy 2 Operational
Aste 1A and Aste 1B Operational with 8 h heat storage
Solacor 1 and Solacor 2 Operational
Helios 1 and Helios 2 Operational
Shams 1 Operational
Both Termosol 1 and 2 Operational
Operational
Operational
Operational
Operational
Under construction
Under construction
Operational
Under construction
Operational
Under construction
Under construction
Under construction
Under construction

validation purpose the computational simulation techniques were

used [78]. Thus solar energy with PTC is more suitable for industrial process applications.
4.5. Solar energy in power plants
In recent decades many power plants are in operational condition using solar energy. In India as on February 2014 a 4000 MW
ultra mega solar photovoltaic power plant project has been planned to be installed in the western state of Rajasthan, within
7 years of period. It will be constructed in two phases initially
1000 MW and the balance 3000 MW in subsequent phases by six
private state-owned companies [80]. The PTC are mostly used for
power generation in many countries because of their high concentration ratio and the high temperature capability. A high
amount of high pressure steam is required for power generation.
In an energy feasibility study with parabolic trough collector
18 bar pressure has been obtained [81]. The researchers have done
simulations on solar PTC power plant for enhancing the annual
power generation [82]. Hachicha et al. have done a heat transfer
analysis on the heat collecting element for increasing the output
performance of the power plant [83]. Synthetic oil is used as the
heat transfer uid in solar power plants with PTC generating a
temperature of about 400 C [84]. The direct steam generation in
the solar collector has been proposed to improve the enactment of
solar power plants [85]. An internally nned tube PTC has
improved power plant effectiveness [86]. The optimized design
and selective coatings on the absorber tube makes remarkable
improvement in solar power plant productivity [8788].
One of the main challenges of integrating the electricity generated by SPTC into the existing electric grid is supplying the load
efciently, as generally the peak of electricity demand is not
coincident with the sunniest hours of the day. Thermal energy
storage arises as a convenient solution for this problem, as it is
capable of provoiding up to 6 h of generation after sunset. De Jong
et al. have studied the tting of the demand of electricity (load
curve) by solar power plants, in both a daily and an annual basis

(periods of 24 h and 1 year), in the northeast region of Brazil. This

work concluded that, whilst energy storage is necessary to t the
daily load curve, there is a positive correlation between the yearly
load curve and the availability of solar energy [89].
In early period, the power generation was made using water as
working uid for steam generation but in the recent years lots of
researchers have investigated on the different working uids such
as thermal oil or molten salts made of nitrates which are used as a
better alternative instead of water. It is because of better heat
transfer rate [9092]. In the world, current overall operational
capacity of solar power plants trapping energy by collector is
2828.8 MW and the under construction solar power plants with
collector will have 2463.9 MW [93]. The country wise solar PTC
power plant is shown in Table 2. The solar PTC plant installed
capacities of India is 228.5 MW and its capacities under constructional process is about 303 MW respectively.

5. Conclusion
This paper focuses on the current energy crisis that has lead to
the innovative study on renewable energy. The solar energy is a
perfect remedy for future power demand. The solar collectors
contribute to more advancement in thermal applications. The PTC
has the ability to handle about 400 C temperature of heat. The
various studies shows the following:

 Structural and optical performance analysis on PTC shows the

major parameters such as; optical efciency, heat transfer

coefcient of working uid, heat ux, reection, transmission,
adsorption, diameter of absorber, length of the collector etc.
should be optimized to withstand against environmental
conditions.
Thermal analysis on PTC shows that a consecutive improvement
can be done in thermal efciency by optimizing the major
affecting parameter such as absorber materials, coatings on
absorber and differing working uid.

1090

V.K. Jebasingh, G.M.J. Herbert / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 10851091

 The thermal storage system on the solar PTC makes a future

pathway for many thermal applications. Since the phase change

from solid to liquid it is made to store much energy that can be
used for night time and also during cloudy days.
PTC applications in air heating system, desalination process,
refrigeration system and industrial purposes are focused.

Finally the advanced research on solar PTC has made it the best
way for tracking maximum solar energy for various purposes.
Currently solar power plants using PTC for electricity generation in
the world contributes with 2828.8 MW from operational and
2463.9 MW from under construction. Thus the Solar PTC entices
researchers to make a development in all elds.

References
[1] Government of India. Ministry of Power Central Electricity Authority New
Delhi, Executive summary power sector, http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/plan
ning/dmlf/growth; February 2014 [accessed 17.07.14].
[2] Reddy KS, Ravi Kumar K. Solar collector eld design and viability analysis of
stand-alone parabolic trough power plants for Indian conditions. Energy
Sustain Dev 2012;16:45670.
[3] Valan Arasu A, Sornakumar T. Life cycle cost analysis of new FRP based solar
parabolic trough collector hot water generation system. J Zhejiang Univ Sci A
2008;9(3):41622.
[4] National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the US Department of
Energy. Source from http://www.nrel.gov/international/ra_india.html; Content last updated: 26th September 2013.
[5] Garud Shirish, Purohit Ishan. Making Solar Thermal Power Generation in India
a Reality Overview of Technologies, Opportunities and Challenges. India: The
Energy and Resources Institute; 2009.
[6] Morimoto Masato, Maruyama Toshiro. Static solar concentrator with vertical
at plate photovoltaic cells and switchable white/transparent bottom plate.
Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 2005;87:299309.
[7] Bello-Garcia Antonio, Garcia-Cortes Silverio, Ordonez Celestino. Estimating
intercept factor of a parabolic solar trough collector with new supporting
structure using off-the-shelf photogrammetric equipment. Appl Energy
2012;92:81521.
[8] Eckhard Lupfert, Michael Geyer. Eurotrough desigh issues and prototype
testing at PSA. In: Proceedings of solar forum 2001. Solar energy, 2125 April;
2001.
[9] Vasquez Padilla Ricardo, Demirkaya Gokmen, Yogi Goswami D, Stefanakos
Elias, Rahman Muhammad M. Heat transfer analysis of parabolic trough solar
receiver. Appl Energy 2011;88:5097110.
[10] Edenburn Michael W. Performance analysis of a cylindrical parabolic focusing
collector and comparison with experimental results. Sol Energy 1976;18:437
44.
[11] Naeeni N, Yaghoubi M. Analysis of wind ow around a parabolic collector
(1) uid ow. Renew Energy 2007;32:1898916.
[12] Rojas ME, De Andres MC, Gonzalez L. Designing capillary systems to enhance
heat transfer in LS3 parabolic trough collectors for direct steam generation. Sol
Energy 2008;82:5360.
[13] Kalogirou SA. Solar thermal collectors and applications. Prog Energy Combust
Sci 2004;30(3):23195.
[14] Michael Geyer, Eckhard Lupfert. Eurotrough-Parabolic trough collector
developed for cost efcient solar power generation. In: Proceedings of the
11th international symposium on concentrating solar power and chemical
energy technologies. 46 September, Zurich, Switzerland; 2002.
[15] Bakos George C. Design and construction of a two-axis Sun tracking system for
parabolic trough collector (PTC) efciency improvement. Renew Energy
2006;31:241121.
[16] Jeter Sheldon M. Analytical determination of the optical performance of
practical parabolic trough collectors from design data. Sol Energy 1987;39:11
21.
[17] Bakos GC, Ioannidis I, Tsagas NF, Seftelis I. Design, optimisation and
conversion-efciency determination of a line-focus parabolic-trough solarcollector. Appl Energy 2001;68:4350.
[18] Silva R, Perez M, Fernandez-Garcia A. Modeling and co-simulation of a parabolic trough solar plant for industrial process heat. Appl Energy
2013;106:287300.
[19] Lobon David H, Baglietto Emilio, Valenzuela Loreto, Zarza Eduardo. Modeling
direct steam generation in solar collectors with multiphase CFD. Appl Energy
2014;113:133848.
[20] You Changfu, Zhang Wei, Yin Zhiqiang. Modeling of uid ow and heat
transfer in a trough solar collector. Appl Therm Eng 2013;54:24754.
[21] De Risi A, Milanese M, Laforgia D. Modelling and optimization of transparent
parabolic trough collector based on gas-phase nanouids. Renew Energy
2013;58:1349.

[22] Hachicha AA, Rodriguez I, Castro J, Oliva A. Numerical simulation of wind ow

around a parabolic trough solar collector. Appl Energy 2013;107:42637.
[23] Price H, Lupfert E, Kearney D, Zarza E, Cohen G, Gee, et al. Advances in
parabolic trough solar power technology. J Sol Energy Eng 2002;124(2):109
25.
[24] Foristall R. Heat transfer analysis and modeling of aparabolic trough solar
receiver implemented in engineering equation solver (Technical report). US,
Colorado: NREL; 2003.
[25] Garcia-Valladares O, Velazquez N. Numerical simulation of parabolic trough
solar collector: improvement using counter ow concentric circular heat
exchangers. Int J Heat Mass Transf 2009;52(34):597609.
[26] Padilla R, Demirkaya G, Goswami Y, Stefanakos E, Rahman M. Heat transfer
analysis of parabolic trough solar receiver. Appl Energy 2011;88:5097110.
[27] Kalogirou S. A detailed thermal model of a parabolic trough collector receiver.
Energy 2012;48:298306.
[28] Ravi Kumar K, Reddy KS. Thermal analysis of solar parabolic trough with
porous disc receiver. Appl Energy 2009;86:180412.
[29] Cheng ZD, He YL, Cui FQ. Numerical study of heat transfer enhancement by
unilateral longitudinal vortex generators inside parabolic trough solar receivers. Int J Heat Mass Transf 2012;55:563141.
[30] Yaghoubi M, Ahmadi F, Bandehee M. Analysis of heat losses of absorber tubes
of parabolic through collector of Shiraz (Iran) solar power plant. J Clean
Energy Technol 2013;1(1):337.
[31] Tyagia VV, Panwar NL, Rahim NA, Richa Kothari. Review on solar air heating
system with and without thermal energy storage system. Renew Sustain
Energy Rev 2012;16:2289303.
[32] Rabin Y, Bar-Niv I, Korin E, Mikie B. Integrated solar collector storage system
based on a salthydrate phase change material. Sol Energy 1995;55(6):43544.
[33] Hasan A. Phase change material energy storage system employing palmitic
acid. Sol Energy 1994;52:14354.
[34] Enibe SO. Thermal analysis of a natural circulation solar air heating system
with phase change material energy storage. Renew Energy 2003;28:226999.
[35] Tyagi Vineet Veer, Buddhi D. PCM thermal storage in buildings: a state of art.
Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2007;11(6):114666.
[36] Morrison DJ, Abdel-Khalil SI. Effects of phase-change energy storage on the
performance of air-based and liquid-based solar heating systems. Sol Energy
1978;20:5767.
[37] Jurinak JJ, Abdel-khalik SI. Properties optimization for phase-change energy
storage in air-based solar heating systems. Sol Energy 1978;21:37783.
[38] Hammou ZA, Lacroix M. A new PCM storage system for managing simultaneously solar and electric energy. Energy Build 2006;38:25865.
[39] Enibe SO. Performance of a natural circulation solar air heating system with
phase change material energy storage. Renew Energy 2002;27:6986.
[40] Nafey AS, Sharaf MA. Combined solar organic Rankine cycle with reverse
osmosis desalination process: energy, exergy, and cost evaluations. Renew
Energy 2010;35:257180.
[41] Minjur Desalination Plant. Tamilnadu, India. Water-Technology.net. [accessed
7.01.13].
[42] Sharaf MA, Nafey AS, Garcia-Rodriguez Lourdes. Exergy and thermo-economic
analyses of a combined solar organic cycle with multi-effect distillation
desalination process. Desalination 2011;272:13547.
[43] Karellas Sotirios, Terzis Konstantinos, Manolakos Dimitrios. Investigation of an
autonomous hybrid solar thermal ORCePV RO desalination system. The Chalki
island case. Renew Energy 2011;36:58390.
[44] Mohamed Essam Sh, Papadakis G. Design simulation and economic analysis of
a stand alone reverse osmosis desalination unit powered by wind turbine and
photovoltaics. Desalination 2004;164:8797.
[45] Bruno Joan Carles, Lopez-Villada Jesus, Letelier Eduardo, Romera Silvia, Coronas Alberto. Modelling and optimisation of solar organic rankine cycle
engines for reverse osmosis desalination. Appl Therm Eng 2008;28:221226.
[46] Al-Alili A, Hwang Y, Radermacher R, Kubo I. A high efciency solar air conditioner using concentrating photovoltaic/thermal collectors. Appl Energy
2012;93:13847.
[47] Fujisawa T, Tani T. Optimum design for residential photovoltaicthermal
binary utilization system by minimizing auxiliary energy. Electr Eng Jpn
2001;137:2835.
[48] Sandnes B, Rekstad J. A photovoltaic/thermal collector with a polymer
absorber plate: experimental study and analytical model. Sol Energy
2002;72:6373.
[49] Kalogirou SA, Tripanagnostopoulos Y. Industrial application of PV/T solar
energy systems. Appl Therm Eng 2007;27:125970.
[50] Brogren M, Nostell P, Karlsson B. Optical efciency of a PV-thermal hybrid CPC
module for high latitudes. Sol Energy 2000;69:17385.
[51] Nilsson J, Hakansson H, Karlsson B. Electrical and thermal characterization of a
PV-CPC hybrid. Sol Energy 2007;81:91728.
[52] Hu EJ. A study of thermal decomposition of methanol in solar powered
adsorption refrigeration systems. Sol Energy 1998;62:3259.
[53] Saha BB, Boelman EC, Kashiwagi T. Computational analysis of an advanced
adsorption-refrigeration cycle. Energy 1995;20:98394.
[54] Ng KC, Wang X, Lim YS, Saha BB, Chakarborty A, Koyama S, et al. Experimental
study on performance improvement for a four-bed adsorption chiller by using
heat and mass recovery. Int J Heat Mass Transf 2006;49:33438.
[55] Chen CJ, Wang RZ, Xia ZZ, Kiplagat JK, Lu ZS. Study on a compact silica gel
water adsorption chiller without vacuum valves: design and experimental
study. Appl Energy 2010;87:267381.

V.K. Jebasingh, G.M.J. Herbert / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 10851091

[56] Li S, Wu JY. Theoretical research of a silica gelwater adsorption chiller in a

micro-combined cooling, heating and power system. Appl Energy
2009;86:95867.
[57] Gang Pei, Jing Li, Jie Ji. Design and analysis of a novel low-temperature solar
thermal electric system with two-stage collectors and heat storage units.
Renew Energy 2011;36:232433.
[58] Hassan HZ, Mohamad AA, Al-Ansary HA. Development of a continuously
operating solar-driven adsorption cooling system: thermodynamic analysis
and parametric study. Appl Therm Eng 2012;48:33241.
[59] Hassan HZ, Mohamad AA, Bennacer R. Simulation of an adsorption solar
cooling system. Energy 2011;36:5307.
[60] Saha BB, Sharkawy El, Chakraborty A, Koyama S. Study on an activated carbon
berethanol adsorption chiller. Part II. Performance evaluation. Int J Refrig
2007;30:96102.
[61] Wang RZ, Jia JP, Teng Y, Zhu YH, Wu JY. Study on a new solid adsorption
refrigeration pair active carbon ber-methanol. ASME J Sol Energy Eng
1997;119:2148.
[62] Louajari M, Mimet A, Ouammi A. Study of the effect of nned tube adsorber on
the performance of solar driven adsorption cooling machine using activated
carbonammonia pair. Appl Energy 2011;88(3):6908.
[63] Wang DC, Zhang JP. Design and performance prediction of an adsorption heat
pump with multi-cooling tubes. Energy Convers Manag 2009;50(5):115762.
[64] Anyanwu EE, Ogueke NV. Thermodynamic design procedure for solid
adsorption solar refrigerator. Renew Energy 2005;30(1):8196.
[65] Xu SM, Huang XD, Du R. An investigation of the solar powered absorption
refrigeration system with advanced energy storage technology. Sol Energy
2011;85:1794804.
[66] Zondag HA, De Vries DW, Van Helden WGJ, Van Zolingen RJC, Van Steenhoven
AA. The thermal and electrical yield of a PV-thermal collector. Sol Energy
2002;72:11328.
[67] Chow TT. Performance analysis of photovoltaic thermal collector by explicit
dynamic model. Sol Energy 2003;75:14352.
[68] Lazarova V, Schaefferb Chr, Shishkova M, Lvanovab M. Hybrid solar collector.
J Mater Process Technol 2005;161:22933.
[69] Vokas G, Christandonis N, Skittides F. Hybrid photovoltaic thermal systems for
domestic heating and cooling a theoretical approach. Sol Energy
2006;80:60715.
[70] Santbergen R, Van Zolingen RJ. Modeling the thermal absorption factor of
photovoltaic/thermal combi-panels. Energy Convers Manag 2006;47:357281.
[71] Tierney MJ. Options for solar assisted refrigeration trough collectors and
double-effect chillers. Renew Energy 2007;32:18399.
[72] El Fadar A, Mimet A, Azzabakh A, Perez-Garcia M, Castaing J. Study of a new
solar adsorption refrigerator powered by a parabolic trough collector. Appl
Therm Eng 2009;29:126770.
[73] List of Solar Heat for Industrial Processes-SHIP plants, http://ship-plants.info/;
[accessed 6.07.15].
[74] International Energy Agency IEA, http://task49.iea-shc.org/; [accessed
6.07.15].
[75] Fernandez-Garcia A, Zarza E, Valenzuela L, Perez. Parabolic trough solar collector and their applications. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2010;14:1695721.

1091

[76] Kalogirou Soteris. The potential of solar industrial process heat applications.
Appl Energy 2003;76:33761.
[77] Norton B. Solar process heat: distillation, drying, agricultural and industrial
uses. In: Proceedings of ISES solar world congress 1999. Jerusalem, Israel;
1999. p. 133438 [on CD-ROM].
[78] Spate F, Hafner B, Schwarzer K. A system for solar process heat for decentralised applications in developing countries. In: Proceedings of ISES solar
world congress 1999. Jerusalem, Israel; 1999. p. 136469 [on CD-ROM].
[79] Benz N, Gut M, Rub W. Solar process heat in breweries and dairies. In: Proceedings of EuroSun 98. Portoroz, Slovenia; 1998.
[80] World Largest solar power plant, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature.2014.14647
[accessed 6.07.15].
[81] Mustapha Douani, Abdallah Labbaci, Benaichouche Houria Hadj. Analysis of
the energetic feasibility of parabolic trough collectors integrated in solar
towers in Adrar area. Energy Procedia 2013;36:1085100.
[82] Prince Henry. A parabolic trough solar power plant simulation model. In:
Proceedings of ASME international solar energy conference. USA; 2003. p.
66573 [eISBN: 0-7918-3664-9].
[83] Hachicha AA, Rodriguez I, Capdevila R, Oliva A. Heat transfer analysis and
numerical simulation of a parabolic trough solar collector. Appl Energy
2013;111:58192.
[84] Price H, Lupfert E, Kearney D, Zarza E, Cohen G, Gee R, Mahoney R. Advances
inparabolic trough solar power technology. J Sol Energy Eng 2002;124(2):109
25.
[85] Odeh S, Morrison G, Behnia M. Modelling of parabolic trough direct steam
generation solar collectors. Sol Energy 1998;62(6):395406.
[86] Munoz Javier, Abanades Alberto. Analysis of internal helically nned tubes for
parabolic trough design by CFD tools. Appl Energy 2011;88:413949.
[87] Farooq M, Raja IA. Optimisation of metal sputtered and electroplated substrates for solar selective coatings. Renew Energy 2008;33:127585.
[88] Eck M, Zarza E, Eickhoff M, Rheinlnder J, Valenzuela L. Applied research
concerning the direct steam generation in parabolic trough. Sol Energy
2003;74:34151.
[89] De Jong P, Sanchez AS, Esquerre K, Kalid RA, Torres EA. Solar and wind energy
production in relation to the electricity load curve and hydroelectricity in the
northeast region of Brazil. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2013;23:52635.
[90] Bradshaw Robert W, Siegel Nathan P. Molten nitrate salt development for
thermal energy storage in parabolic trough solar power systems. In: Proceedings of energy sustainability 2008 (ES2008). 1014 August , Jacksonville,
Florida, USA; 2008 .
[91] Herrmann Ulf, Kearney David W. Survey of thermal energy storage for parabolic trough power plant. J Sol Energy Eng 2002;124(2):14552.
[92] Kolb GJ, Diver RB. Conceptual design of an advanced trough utilizing a molten
salt working uid. In: Proceedings of solar PACES 2008. 37 March, Las Vegas,
NV; 2008.
[93] NREL. U.S Department of Energy, Source from http://www.nrel.gov/csp/
solarpaces/by_project.cfm; [accessed 15.03.14].