Show j Ii I ENERGY E N ERGY r y NEWS Sa FEA FEATURES TU RES Solar Heat to Save Fuel At Uranium Ore Refinery Researchers at UL the Lawrence Law ren rence e Livermore Laboratory in California have crossed a awater awater awater water bed with a greenhouse in designing a solar pond sy system tem to heat heal industrial processing pro ing water at a uranium ore refinery located near Grants New NeVI Mexico Heating the water with solar energy in this system beginning in 1976 should hould cost about third one less leoS than heating by oil and cut petroleum petroleum petro petro- leum consumption by about barrels a II year Joint Project The project has b been en undertaken under taken jointly by oy Petroleum Petroleum Petro Petro- leum Company of Cleveland Ohio which operates the uranium ura lira uranium processing plant and u uranium mine near Grants and the En Research and Development Administration IRDA fRDA under a no funds lund exchanged d contract Lawrence Lawrenc Livermore Livermon California Cali au fornia Laboratory operated for Cor mUM by oy the University of California is h providing scientific and engineering expertise expertise ex perti pertise e. e and is providing providing providing pro pro- viding materials and construe construe- tion Information on the solar pond project will he made available without re restriction Dr William Dickerson leader of the Livermore Laboratory's Laboratory's Labo Labo- solar project ex ex- plaited that a solar pond is simply a device for heating healing cold old water by lowing flowing it slowly through special greenhouses green houses houes exposed to the he sun j I The water actually moves through a u long Hat flat t plastic bog bag which prevents evaporation evaporation tion he said id Black Pla Plastic Under r the bag is black plastic t l to 10 absorb the suns sun's heat heat and under that is a ly layer r of in insulation to prevent heat loss into the ground Above the bag is an an anair air airspace airspace airspace space and then one or two domes of transparent plastic to let lei in the suns sun's rays and create the greenhouse e el effect feet A single singh pond module is f feet et long I I feet wide and only three or four lour inches deep Preheating The uranium plant which needs water hea heated t to I degrees Fahrenheit F. F must must be supplied at a rate of gallons per minute 24 hours a day A solar pond system m consisting of about six acres cres of modules will take care of almost all all of the plants plant's needs during the summer and preheat pre heat water for a fuel burner I in the win winter ter Shorter experimental ponds built at Livermore were able aole to heat 60 ca degree water to 10 degrees on a i cloudless ss sum summer met day even ven though not them n California sun is less intense than the he New M Mexico xico sun l Even on a 4 1 cold cloudy day ay i in winter the short hort ponds at 3 Livermore heated the lime water t to 80 or 90 degrees degree F. F r f No No solar energy collector 1 is as useful u ful on cloudy days a as ason on sunny days Dickerson said but out a significant fuel 1 saving savings for Indu Industrial trial hot water needs can an he be e realised 1 simply imply by using Hw ponds to preheat water going into a i fuel burner urner I He tie believes solar heating of or t j water can tan have haw a J large lare nation nation- wide wid impact t. t since u II very wry u substantial fraction of this country's entire entin energy consumption con con- consumption on is for industrial hot hoc water waler and steam |