scholarly journals Computational Analysis of Nanoparticles-Molten Salt Thermal Energy Storage for Concentrated Solar Power Systems

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinod Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Computational Analysis ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power

scholarly journals Synthesis and Characterization of Molten Salt Nanofluids for Thermal Energy Storage Application in Concentrated Solar Power Plants—Mechanistic Understanding of Specific Heat Capacity Enhancement

Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2266
Author(s):  
Binjian Ma ◽  
Donghyun Shin ◽  
Debjyoti Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Heat Capacity ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Specific Heat ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Specific Heat Capacity ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Alumina Nanoparticles ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power

Molten salts mixed with nanoparticles have been shown as a promising candidate as the thermal energy storage (TES) material in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. However, the conventional method used to prepare molten salt nanofluid suffers from a high material cost, intensive energy use, and laborious process. In this study, solar salt-Al2O3 nanofluids at three different concentrations are prepared by a one-step method in which the oxide nanoparticles are generated in the salt melt directly from precursors. The morphologies of the obtained nanomaterials are examined under scanning electron microscopy and the specific heat capacities are measured using the temperature history (T-history) method. A non-linear enhancement in the specific heat capacity of molten salt nanofluid is observed from the thermal characterization at a nanoparticle mass concentration of 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5%. In particular, a maximum enhancement of 38.7% in specific heat is found for the nanofluid sample prepared with a target nanoparticle mass fraction of 1.0%. Such an enhancement trend is attributed to the formation of secondary nanostructure between the alumina nanoparticles in the molten salt matrix following a locally-dispersed-parcel pattern. These findings provide new insights to understanding the enhanced energy storage capacity of molten salt nanofluids.

Viability Assessment of a Concentrated Solar Power Tower With a Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle Power Plant

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Sulaiman Alsagri ◽  
Andrew Chiasson ◽  
Mohamed Gadalla
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Capacity Factor ◽  
Brayton Cycle ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Solar Power Tower

The aim of this study was to conduct thermodynamic and economic analyses of a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant to drive a supercritical CO2 recompression Brayton cycle. The objectives were to assess the system viability in a location of moderate-to-high-temperature solar availability to sCO2 power block during the day and to investigate the role of thermal energy storage with 4, 8, 12, and 16 h of storage to increase the solar share and the yearly energy generating capacity. A case study of system optimization and evaluation is presented in a city in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh). To achieve the highest energy production per unit cost, the heliostat geometry field design integrated with a sCO2 Brayton cycle with a molten-salt thermal energy storage (TES) dispatch system and the corresponding operating parameters are optimized. A solar power tower (SPT) is a type of CSP system that is of particular interest in this research because it can operate at relatively high temperatures. The present SPT-TES field comprises of heliostat field mirrors, a solar tower, a receiver, heat exchangers, and two molten-salt TES tanks. The main thermoeconomic indicators are the capacity factor and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The research findings indicate that SPT-TES with a supercritical CO2 power cycle is economically viable with 12 h thermal storage using molten salt. The results also show that integrating 12 h-TES with an SPT has a high positive impact on the capacity factor of 60% at the optimum LCOE of $0.1078/kW h.

Enhanced Heat Capacity of Molten Salt Nano-Materials for Concentrated Solar Power Application

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramaprasath Devaradjane ◽  
Donghyun Shin
Keyword(s):  
Heat Capacity ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salts ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Storage Temperature ◽  
Nano Materials ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power

Storage of thermal energy using molten salt materials has been widely explored for concentrating solar power. Since these power plants use thermodynamic cycle, the overall system cycle efficiency significantly relies on the thermal energy storage temperature. Therefore, increasing the thermal energy storage temperature and decreasing the amount of material needed can result in reducing the cost of solar energy. Molten salts are stable up to 700°C, relatively cheap, and safe to the environment. However, the heat capacity of the molten salts is typically low (∼1.5 J/gK) compared to other thermal storage materials. The low heat capacity of molten salts can be improved by dispersing nanoparticles. In this study, we synthesized molten salt nanomaterial by dispersing oxide nanoparticles into selected molten salts. Heat capacity measurements were performed using a modulated differential scanning calorimeter. Materials characterization studies were performed using a scanning electron microscopy. Hence, we evaluated the use of the molten salt nanomaterials as thermal energy storage media in concentrated solar power applications. Increase in the specific heat capacity of the molten salt is also demonstrated on addition with Nano materials of specific size and quantity.

Techno-economic assessment of technological improvements in thermal energy storage of concentrated solar power

Solar Energy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 552-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riezqa Andika ◽  
Young Kim ◽  
Seok Ho Yoon ◽  
Dong Ho Kim ◽  
Jun Seok Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Technological Improvements
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