A thermodynamic limit of solar concentrating materials synthesis

Abstract
This paper deals with a thermodynamic limit that Nature imposes to any technology for synthesizing any material, either fuel or chemical, from environmental raw materials and concentrated solar radiation.This limit relates, on one hand, three technological relevant items: receiver area, concentration ratio, and solar radiation exposure time for the synthesis reaction; on the other hand, that limit depends only on site characteristics, like standard meteorological and solar data. As far as the limit depends only on local features, it is especially suitable for selecting the material, chemical or fuel, most suitable for a solar concentrating synthesis in a given site; moreover, because the limit does not depend on any particular technology, it provides an objective basis for comparing different technological options, even between different locations.