Ca(NO3)2—NaNO3—KNO3 Molten Salt Mixtures for Direct Thermal Energy Storage Systems in Parabolic Trough Plants

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith C. Gomez ◽  
Nicolas Calvet ◽  
Anne K. Starace ◽  
Greg C. Glatzmaier
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Invariant Reaction ◽  
Rankine Cycle ◽  
High Viscosity ◽  
Decomposition Temperature ◽  
Scanning Calorimetry ◽  
High Tendency

Molten salts are currently the only thermal energy storage media operating with multiple hours of energy capacity in commercial concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Thermal energy is stored by sensible heat in the liquid phase. A lower melting point in the range of 60–120 °C and a decomposition temperature above 500 °C are desired because such a fluid would enhance the overall efficiency of the plants by utilizing less energy to keep the salt in the liquid state and by producing superheated steam at higher temperatures in the Rankine cycle. One promising candidate is a multicomponent NaNO3—KNO3—Ca(NO3)2 molten salt. Different compositions have been reported in literature as the best formulation for CSP plants based on melting temperature. In this paper, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) presents the handling, preparation, thermal properties, and characterization of different compositions for this ternary nitrate salt, and comparisons are drawn accordingly. This system has a high tendency to form supercooled liquids with high viscosity that undergo glass formation during cooling. When the proportion of Ca(NO3)2 decreases, the formulations become more thermally stable, the viscosity goes down, and the system increases its degree of crystalline solidification. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests showed the presence of a ternary eutectoid solid–solid invariant reaction at around 100 °C. The eutectic invariant reaction was resolved between 120 and 133 °C as reported in the literature. Based on DSC and viscosity results, the best composition would seem to be 36 wt. % Ca(NO3)2—16 wt. % NaNO3—48 wt. % KNO3, which showed a low solidification point.

scholarly journals Demonstration of Phase Change Thermal Energy Storage in Zinc Oxide Microencapsulated Sodium Nitrate

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 6234
Author(s):  
Ciprian Neagoe ◽  
Ioan Albert Tudor ◽  
Cristina Florentina Ciobota ◽  
Cristian Bogdanescu ◽  
Paul Stanciu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zinc Oxide ◽  
Thermal Properties ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Sodium Nitrate ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Metal Corrosion ◽  
Scanning Calorimetry

Microencapsulation of sodium nitrate (NaNO3) as phase change material for high temperature thermal energy storage aims to reduce costs related to metal corrosion in storage tanks. The goal of this work was to test in a prototype thermal energy storage tank (16.7 L internal volume) the thermal properties of NaNO3 microencapsulated in zinc oxide shells, and estimate the potential of NaNO3–ZnO microcapsules for thermal storage applications. A fast and scalable microencapsulation procedure was developed, a flow calorimetry method was adapted, and a template document created to perform tank thermal transfer simulation by the finite element method (FEM) was set in Microsoft Excel. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transient plane source (TPS) methods were used to measure, in small samples, the temperature dependency of melting/solidification heat, specific heat, and thermal conductivity of the NaNO3–ZnO microcapsules. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical analysis demonstrated the stability of microcapsules over multiple tank charge–discharge cycles. The energy stored as latent heat is available for a temperature interval from 303 to 285 °C, corresponding to onset–offset for NaNO3 solidification. Charge–self-discharge experiments on the pilot tank showed that the amount of thermal energy stored in this interval largely corresponds to the NaNO3 content of the microcapsules; the high temperature energy density of microcapsules is estimated in the range from 145 to 179 MJ/m3. Comparison between real tank experiments and FEM simulations demonstrated that DSC and TPS laboratory measurements on microcapsule thermal properties may reliably be used to design applications for thermal energy storage.

Effect of High Temperatures and Heating Rates on High Strength Concrete for Use as Thermal Energy Storage

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emerson E. John ◽  
W. Micah Hale ◽  
R. Panneer Selvam
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Heat Transfer Fluid ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Storage Media ◽  
Concrete Mixtures

In recent years due to rising energy costs as well as an increased interest in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, there is great interest in developing alternative sources of energy. One of the most viable alternative energy resources is solar energy. Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies have been identified as an option for meeting utility needs in the U.S. Southwest. Areas where CSP technologies can be improved are improved heat transfer fluid (HTF) and improved methods of thermal energy storage (TES). One viable option for TES storage media is concrete. The material costs of concrete can be very inexpensive and the costs/ kWhthermal, which is based on the operating temperature, are reported to be approximately $1. Researchers using concrete as a TES storage media have achieved maximum operating temperatures of 400°C. However, there are concerns for using concrete as the TES medium, and these concerns center on the effects and the limitations that the high temperatures may have on the concrete. As the concrete temperature increases, decomposition of the calcium hydroxide (CH) occurs at 500°C, and there is significant strength loss due to degeneration of the calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H). Additionally concrete exposed to high temperatures has a propensity to spall explosively. This proposed paper examines the effect of heating rates on high performance concrete mixtures. Concrete mixtures with water to cementitious material ratios (w/cm) of 0.15 to 0.30 and compressive strengths of up to 180 MPa (26 ksi) were cast and subjected to heating rates of 3, 5, 7, and 9° C/min. These concrete mixtures are to be used in tests modules where molten salt is used as the heat transfer fluid. Molten salt becomes liquid at temperatures exceeding 220°C and therefore the concrete will be exposed to high initial temperatures and subsequently at controlled heating rates up to desired operating temperatures. Preliminary results consistently show that concrete mixtures without polypropylene fibres (PP) cannot resist temperatures beyond 500° C, regardless of the heating rate employed. These mixtures spall at higher temperatures when heated at a faster rate (7° C/min). Additionally, mixtures which incorporate PP fibres can withstand temperatures up to 600° C without spalling irrespective of the heating rate.

Preparation and properties of shape-stabilized phase change material cellulose benzoate-g-polyoxyethylene (2) hexadecyl ether with potential for thermal energy storage

2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (8) ◽  
pp. 1512-1521
Author(s):  
Na Han ◽  
Wenxin Zhang ◽  
Xiufang Wang ◽  
Xingxiang Zhang ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transition ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Thermal Reliability ◽  
Scanning Calorimetry ◽  
Chemical Structures

It is a worldwide challenge to efficiently use renewable resources to solve the current energy shortage. The existing cellulose-based material is incapable of proper power storage. In this study, a series of cellulose benzoate-g-polyoxyethylene (2) hexadecyl ether (CB-g-E2C16) solid–solid phase change materials were synthesized with cellulose as the skeleton and polyoxyethylene (2) hexadecyl ether (E2C16) as a functional side chain. The skeleton cellulose and benzoyl chloride restrict the free movement of the molecular chains of E2C16 above the phase transition temperature, leading to a solid–solid phase change. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were performed to investigate the chemical structures. The thermal energy-storage properties, thermal reliability and thermal stability of the CB-g-E2C16 were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry (TG) methods. The analysis results indicated that the E2C16 chains were successfully grafted onto the cellulose benzoate (CB) backbone and the copolymers exhibited typical solid–solid phase transition behavior. The enthalpy and degree of substitution of graft copolymers CB-g-E2C16 could be adjusted by changing the feeding ratio of the raw materials, reaction temperature and post-processing methods of CB. TG analysis results showed that the CB-g-E2C16 copolymers possessed good thermostability and they keep their stability up to 278℃. Compared with pure cellulose, CB-g-E2C16 copolymers could be dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and most of them could be dissolved in N, N-dimethylformamide.

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