UNITED STATES SPECIAL FORMAT REPORT PERFORMANCE OF THE S0HI0 SOLAR WATER HEATING SYSTEM USING LARGE AREA PLASTIC COLLECTORS (GRANTS, NEW MEXICO)

摘要

The objective of the ERDA-Sohio project is to design and build a system of shallow solar ponds (SSPs) to provide a substantial portion (~ 50％) of the hot water required by the Sohio Petroleum Company at its new uranium mining and milling complex near Grants, New Mexico. The hot water is used to accelerate the chemical leaching process by which the uranium ore is concentrated to U3O8. This process requires about 20 l/s of 60°C water, 24 hr a day. This corresponds to an annual requirement for process heat of about 108 MJ. The plant will have oil-burning boilers to heat water, but, because of the high cost of fuel oil and the possibility of occasional shortages, Sohio wishes to supplement oil heating with solar heating.