Design and Simulation of a Solar Field Coupled to a Cork Boiling Plant

Abstract Cork production and processing are important sectors of activity in Portugal and Spain. The cork boiling consists of cork immersion for approximately 1 h in boiling water (100 °C). This industrial process demands thermal energy that is suitable to be provided by solar energy. In this work, the results of coupling a solar field with thermal collectors with the cork boiling plant ECOTRAFOR, placed in Extremadura (Spain), are presented, including solar field sizing, simulation and annual yield analysis of the system.