Concentrated solar power facilities are becoming one of the most attractive power plants for conv... more Concentrated solar power facilities are becoming one of the most attractive power plants for converting solar energy into useful work. Solar thermal technology with improved energy efficiency and process temperature is being developed to lower the levelized cost of electricity. This paper examines recent advances in research and development of molten salt as a heat transfer fluid, along with its benefits and drawbacks for a concentrated solar thermal power plant. Significant progress has been achieved by improving the thermal stability and thermophysical characteristics of molten nitrate salt and chloride salt mixtures. Molten chloride salts with thermal stability above 800 o C and quaternary nitrate salt mixtures have been suggested for use as the next generation of concentrated solar power (CSP) technology by various researchers. Heat transfer fluid (HTF) with melting points below 71 o C has so far been developed using quaternary and ternary nitrate salt mixtures. So far, these potential molten salt mixtures are still facing competitive technical challenges such as high corrosivity and economic implications. Addressing some of these challenges within the short term may require the tradeoff of some thermophysical properties. However, further R&D work is necessary to show the applicability of these next-generation Thermal Energy Storage (TES) technologies in the real world.
Concentrated solar power facilities are becoming one of the most attractive power plants for conv... more Concentrated solar power facilities are becoming one of the most attractive power plants for converting solar energy into useful work. Solar thermal technology with improved energy efficiency and process temperature is being developed to lower the levelized cost of electricity. This paper examines recent advances in research and development of molten salt as a heat transfer fluid, along with its benefits and drawbacks for a concentrated solar thermal power plant. Significant progress has been achieved by improving the thermal stability and thermophysical characteristics of molten nitrate salt and chloride salt mixtures. Molten chloride salts with thermal stability above 800 o C and quaternary nitrate salt mixtures have been suggested for use as the next generation of concentrated solar power (CSP) technology by various researchers. Heat transfer fluid (HTF) with melting points below 71 o C has so far been developed using quaternary and ternary nitrate salt mixtures. So far, these potential molten salt mixtures are still facing competitive technical challenges such as high corrosivity and economic implications. Addressing some of these challenges within the short term may require the tradeoff of some thermophysical properties. However, further R&D work is necessary to show the applicability of these next-generation Thermal Energy Storage (TES) technologies in the real world.
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Papers by C. Kwasi-Effah