Development of Molten-Salt Heat Transfer Fluid Technology for Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plants - Public Final Technical Report

A scheme to streamline the electric power generation profile of concentrating solar power plants of the parabolic trough collector type is suggested. The scheme seeks to even out heat transfer rates from the solar field to the power block by splitting the typical heat transfer fluid loop into two loops using an extra vessel and an extra pump. In the first loop, cold heat transfer fluid is pumped by the cold pump from the cold vessel to the solar field to collect heat before accumulating in the newly introduced hot vessel. In the second loop, hot heat transfer fluid is pumped by the hot pump from the hot vessel to a heat exchanger train to supply the power block with its heat load before accumulating in the cold vessel. The new scheme moderately decouples heat supply from heat sink allowing for more control of heat delivery rates thereby evening out power generation.

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Integration Between Gas Turbines and Concentrated Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plants

Volume 6: Energy, Parts A and B ◽

10.1115/imece2012-85874 ◽

2012 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Roberto Cipollone ◽

Andrea Cinocca

Keyword(s):

Gas Turbines ◽

Power Plants ◽

Solar Power ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Energy Generation ◽

Heat Transfer Fluid ◽

Working Fluid ◽

Fluid Temperature ◽

Parabolic Trough ◽

Solar Power Plants

Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power plants (PT-CSP) technology has the capability to give, in the mean future, a strong contribution to the electrical energy generation. In the long term, inside a new framework of relationships concerning energy production, many aspects would justify a significant contribution to the phase out of fossil sources use. The paper concerns about a theoretical modeling aimed at improving the performances of CSP which approaches the energy generation from a system point of view. Thanks to it, the attention is focused on the use of gases as heat transfer fluid inside the solar receivers and on the possibility to use it as working fluid inside unconventional gas turbines for a direct electricity generation. The success of this concept is related to the possibility to increase the fluid temperature above the actual maximum values: this requires that the receiver efficiency has to be recalculated as a function of the fluid temperature. An innovative integration between the solar field and the gas turbine power plant, modified in order to maximize thermal energy conversion, is discussed.

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Application of graphene oxide IoNanofluid as a superior heat transfer fluid in concentrated solar power plants

International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer ◽

10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2019.104450 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 104450 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Armin Hosseinghorbani ◽

Mehrdad Mozaffarian ◽

Gholamreza Pazuki

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Graphene Oxide ◽

Power Plants ◽

Solar Power ◽

Heat Transfer Fluid ◽

Concentrated Solar Power ◽

Solar Power Plants ◽

Concentrated Solar Power Plants

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Streamlining the Power Generation Profile of Concentrating Solar Power Plants

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.4042064 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 141 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohammad Abutayeh ◽

Kwangkook Jeong ◽

Anas Alazzam ◽

Bashar El-Khasawneh

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Power Generation ◽

Power Plants ◽

Solar Power ◽

Heat Transfer Fluid ◽

Concentrating Solar Power ◽

Transfer Rates ◽

Power Block ◽

Solar Power Plants ◽

Solar Field

A scheme to streamline the electric power generation profile of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants of the parabolic trough collector (PTC) type is suggested. The scheme seeks to even out heat transfer rates from the solar field (SF) to the power block (PB) by splitting the typical heat transfer fluid (HTF) loop into two loops using an extra vessel and an extra pump. In the first loop, cold HTF is pumped by the cold pump from the cold vessel to the SF to collect heat before accumulating in the newly introduced hot vessel. In the second loop, hot HTF is pumped by the hot pump from the hot vessel to a heat exchanger train (HXT) to supply the PB with its heat load before accumulating in the cold vessel. The new scheme moderately decouples heat supply from heat sink allowing for more control of heat delivery rates thereby evening out power generation.

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Molten Nitrate Salt Development for Thermal Energy Storage in Parabolic Trough Solar Power Systems

ASME 2008 2nd International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Volume 2 ◽

10.1115/es2008-54174 ◽

2008 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Robert W. Bradshaw ◽

Nathan P. Siegel

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Energy Storage ◽

Molten Salt ◽

Thermal Energy ◽

Thermal Energy Storage ◽

Power Plants ◽

Heat Transfer Fluid ◽

Working Fluid ◽

Parabolic Trough ◽

Heat Transfer Fluids

Thermal energy storage can enhance the utility of parabolic trough solar power plants by providing the ability to match electrical output to peak demand periods. An important component of thermal energy storage system optimization is selecting the working fluid used as the storage media and/or heat transfer fluid. Large quantities of the working fluid are required for power plants at the scale of 100-MW, so maximizing heat transfer fluid performance while minimizing material cost is important. This paper reports recent developments of multi-component molten salt formulations consisting of common alkali nitrate and alkaline earth nitrate salts that have advantageous properties for applications as heat transfer fluids in parabolic trough systems. A primary disadvantage of molten salt heat transfer fluids is relatively high freeze-onset temperature compared to organic heat transfer oil. Experimental results are reported for formulations of inorganic molten salt mixtures that display freeze-onset temperatures below 100°C. In addition to phase-change behavior, several properties of these molten salts that significantly affect their suitability as thermal energy storage fluids were evaluated, including chemical stability and viscosity. These alternative molten salts have demonstrated chemical stability in the presence of air up to approximately 500°C in laboratory testing and display chemical equilibrium behavior similar to Solar Salt. The capability to operate at temperatures up to 500°C may allow an increase in maximum temperature operating capability vs. organic fluids in existing trough systems and will enable increased power cycle efficiency. Experimental measurements of viscosity were performed from near the freeze-onset temperature to about 200°C. Viscosities can exceed 100 cP at the lowest temperature but are less than 10 cP in the primary temperature range at which the mixtures would be used in a thermal energy storage system. Quantitative cost figures of constituent salts and blends are not currently available, although, these molten salt mixtures are expected to be inexpensive compared to synthetic organic heat transfer fluids. Experiments are in progress to confirm that the corrosion behavior of readily available alloys is satisfactory for long-term use.

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