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Solar drying is one of the important application of out of several applications of solar thermal technologies. Solar drying is generally preferred for the drying of different agricultural products and several designs of such dryers are developed and investigated around the globe. However, the solar dehydration/disinfection of the cloths/utensils (clothes drying rack/device) and development of appropriate designs for the same is one of the neglected aspect. Such designs of "solar cloth dehydrators and/or devices" may play an important role in the humid and cloudy weather conditions. More importantly, in the present pandemic of COVID 19, solar dehydrators/disinfectors can be a crucial device for disinfection of cloths and other utensils. Thus, the present work is aimed to design, develop and investigate the novel design of Solar Disinfectant Closet (SDC)/Solar Disinfection Device (SDD) for inactivation of COVID-19 Virus (SARS-COV-2). A primary small prototype of SDC/SDD made of metallic structure is designed and fabricated which can be used during day as well as night. The present design of SDC/SDD is manufactured taking into account the heat inactivation protocol of 5- log viral load reduction (56°C-30min and 60°C-60min) and can be modified to follow the protocol 6-log viral load reduction (92°C -15min). The present experiments discusses the disinfection of stainless steel utensils (SSUs) using the proposed device. The primary results depicts that the novel design of SDC/SDD can reach a temperature of 70°C within 30 minutes and able to dehydrate/disinfect the rated load of cloths/utensils in short span of 70 to 90 minutes. It is proposed that the same device can be used for the inactivation for the different crucial viruses like Tuberculosis, Influenza etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arid northern regions of Chile are characterized by an intensive mineral mining industry and high solar irradiance levels. Besides Chile's main mining products, copper, molybdenum and iron, the production of lithium carbonate from lithium containing brines has become strategically important due to the rising demand for battery technologies worldwide. Its energy-intensive production may affect the ecological footprint of the product and the country's climate targets. Thus, the use of solar technologies for electricity and heat production might constitute an interesting option for CO2 mitigation. This study aims to quantify the impacts of the lithium carbonate production processes in Chile on climate change, and to identify site-specific integration options of solar energy technologies to reduce GHG life-cycle emissions. The considered solar integration options include a parabolic trough power plant with a molten salt storage, a solar tower power plant with molten salt receiver and molten salt storage, a one-axis tracking photovoltaic energy system for electricity, and two solar thermal power plants with Ruths storage (steam accumulator) for thermal heat production. CSP plants were identified as measures with the highest GHG mitigation potential reducing the CO2 emissions for the entire production chain and the lithium production between 16% and 33%. In a scenario that combines solar technologies for electricity and thermal energy generation, up to 59% of the CO2 emissions at the lithium production sites in Chile can be avoided. A comparison of the GHG abatement costs of the proposed solar integration options indicates that the photovoltaic system, the solar thermal plant with limited storage and the solar tower power plant are the most cost effective options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]