Combines Molten Metal Heat Transfer with Low-Cost Thermal Storage to Drive Efficient Solar Power Generation
This solar energy collection and storage system enables operation at high temperatures (up to 1500 °C) that support more efficient power cycles and solar thermal technologies, providing lower-cost renewable energy. To become more cost-efficient, concentrating solar power (CSP) plants must employ collection and storage equipment that can operate at temperatures higher than 1000 °C. Molten metals would serve well as heat transfer fluids due to their high temperature stability, and thermal transport properties; however, thermal storage of them directly is costly. Additionally, available designs for molten metal thermal storage use components made of graphite or other oxidizable metals that are subject to corrosion.
Researchers at the University of Florida have developed high temperature materials of construction for solar receiver utilizing molten metals, brick thermal storage and flow components to achieve 24/7 thermal energy storage system that can produce heat at temperatures up to 1500 °C. This system provides high temperature, low-cost thermal storage and high-quality heat to fuel more efficient power plants.
Application
High temperature solar receiver and thermal storage for efficient and affordable solar energy utilization for power production or other thermally driven technologies (e.g. chemical production, solar fuels)
Advantages
- Operates at high temperatures, increasing the thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle power block or other thermally driven processes
- Stores high-quality heat, driving the solar power conversion process 24/7
- Uses low cost solid thermal storage
- Mo-stabilized solar receiver uses molten Pb as a heat transfer fluid, reducing its size because of very high heat transfer coefficient
Technology
Air-stabilized Mo components via MoSiB coating enable very high temperature solar energy conversion and low-cost thermal storage to improve the efficiency of concentrating solar power conversion and other thermal processes. The molten lead in the solar receiver transfers heat to a supercritical CO2 (sCO2) flow loop that serpentines through rocks or fire bricks that enable low-cost 24/7 operation. This thermal storage supplies high quality heat (T > 1000 °C and up to 1500 °C) able to drive an efficient supercritical CO2 power cycle or other thermal or chemical processes.
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