Viability of renewable energies and industrialization of rural areas using high-performance concrete

Abstract

In the Tropics, the two biggest sources of renewable energy are the intermittent thermal solar and biomass, which is limited by the occupation of large areas. High-performance concrete (HPC) allows construction of thermal solar parabolic collectors (TSPC), which collect 70% of the incident radiation for preheating and evaporating feed water of a Rankine thermoelectric unit whose steam is superheated in a biomass-fired boiler. HPC also allows economical fabrication of stakes, planks to retain rainwater in soil level curves and U-, L-, I-structural profiles to construct riparian tanks to be used for grass irrigation during the dry season increasing biomass production up to 60 tons of dry biomass per hectare per year. Simultaneously soil and fertilizer are recycled recovering degraded bare hills that occupy 1/3 of Brazilian territory. Integration of thermal solar and biomass is complemented with the production of animal protein (cattle, free-range chicken, and fish); anaerobic digester of biomass inoculated with animal deject generates biogas that is washed to vehicular methane gas replacing fossil fuels. Availability of energy (electrical, thermal, and vehicular), water and space below TSPC area promotes transference of urban industries to rural areas.