Screening and Analysis of Potential Filler Materials for Molten Salt Thermocline Storages

Solar thermal power plants are a promising option for future solar electricity generation. Their main advantage is the possibility to utilize integrated thermal storage capacities, allowing electricity generation on demand. In state of the art solar thermal power plants, two-tank molten-salt thermal energy storages are used. Significant cost reductions are expected by using thermocline thermal energy storage by storing the liquid storage material inside a single tank when compared to a two tank storage system. By embedding a low cost solid filler material inside the storage tank further cost reductions can be achieved. In earlier studies [1, 2] several potential filler materials have been investigated. In these study quartzite turned out to be a promising candidate due to its satisfying thermal stability and availability. At a temperature of approx. 573°C the crystal structure of quartzite changes from trigonal α-quartz phase to the hexagonal β-quartz phase [3]. This quartz conversion results in a volume change [4] that may cause cracking of the quartzite crystals due to weight loads in a packed bed. Since these thermal tests of the study mentioned were limited to 500°C this dunting was not considered. Thus, despite of the published studies there is a need for further, more detailed analysis. One trend in today’s development of solar thermal power plants is to use molten salt as storage material and heat transfer fluid at operating temperatures of 560°C and above. Accordingly, the quartz inversion might limit the applicability of quartzite as a filler material at elevated operating temperatures. Due to this concern, an investigation has been started to investigate the utilizability of natural rocks as low cost filler materials. In the first phase of this investigation a comprehensive literature survey was conducted. Based on this study, magmatic and sedimentary rocks turned out to the most promising rock classes for this application. For the further investigation, basalt was chosen as a suited representative for magmatic and quartzite for sedimentary rocks. In lab-scale tests, these candidate materials were investigated with respect to their: • Calcite content • Thermal stability up to 900°C in air • Thermal stability up to 560°C in molten salt • Cyclic stability between 290°C and 560°C in molten salt • Specific heat capacity up to 600°C In this paper the results of these investigations are presented and future activities are outlined.