TY - JOUR
T1 - Heat transfer fluids for concentrating solar power systems - A review
AU - Vignarooban, K.
AU - Xu, Xinhai
AU - Arvay, A.
AU - Hsu, K.
AU - Mada Kannan, Arunachala
N1 - Funding Information:
According to Ma and Turchi of the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado, USA), s-CO 2 has the potential to be operated at very high temperatures and can be used as both HTF for the solar collector and as the working fluid for the power block [23,24] . s-CO 2 can achieve higher efficiencies at lower temperatures compared to steam Rankin and helium cycles, leading to better CSP performances. Due to the high pressures used, s-CO 2 is not suitable for PTC as there are extensive pipelines used in PTC, but it is compatible for power towers. In an ongoing project at the Brayton Energy LLC, Hampton, NH funded by the DOE Sun-Shot program of the US government, a solar collector using s-CO 2 as the HTF is being developed. Receiver working fluid outlet temperature ⩾750 °C and the annual average receiver thermal efficiency ⩾92% are expected [25] .
Funding Information:
Nitrate/nitrite based salts are the mostly investigated and currently used molten-salt mixtures as HTFs for CSP applications. However, worldwide production of these nitrate/nitrite salts is restricted. Therefore, alternative HTFs are being synthesized and studied from inexpensive and naturally abundant materials. Researchers in an ongoing MURI (Multi-university Research Initiative) project funded by the US Department of Energy’s SunShot program recently proposed the above molten chloride salt eutectic system as a potential HTF for future CSP applications. Ionic metal chloride salts, such as NaCl and KCl are abundant in nature and boil at temperatures higher than 1400 °C. When a high melting (∼800 °C) cubic ionic chloride (NaCl or KCl) is mixed with a low melting (∼200 °C) tetrahedral covalent chloride (ZnCl 2 ), a eutectic mixture is formed at a much lower temperature than the melting temperature of NaCl or KCl.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/5/5
Y1 - 2015/5/5
N2 - There is a strong motivation to explore the possibility of harnessing solar thermal energy around the world, especially in locations with temperate weather. This review discusses the current status of heat transfer fluid, which is one of the critical components for storing and transferring thermal energy in concentrating solar power systems. Various types of heat transfer fluids including air, water/steam, thermal oils, organic fluids, molten-salts and liquid metals are reviewed in detail, particularly regarding the melting temperature, thermal stability limit and corrosion issues. Stainless steels and nickel based alloys are the typical piping and container materials for heat transfer fluids. Stability of the stainless steels and alloys while in contact with heat transfer fluids is very important for the longevity of concentrating solar power systems. Corrosion properties of stainless steels and nickel based alloys in different heat transfer fluids are discussed in terms of corrosion rates.
AB - There is a strong motivation to explore the possibility of harnessing solar thermal energy around the world, especially in locations with temperate weather. This review discusses the current status of heat transfer fluid, which is one of the critical components for storing and transferring thermal energy in concentrating solar power systems. Various types of heat transfer fluids including air, water/steam, thermal oils, organic fluids, molten-salts and liquid metals are reviewed in detail, particularly regarding the melting temperature, thermal stability limit and corrosion issues. Stainless steels and nickel based alloys are the typical piping and container materials for heat transfer fluids. Stability of the stainless steels and alloys while in contact with heat transfer fluids is very important for the longevity of concentrating solar power systems. Corrosion properties of stainless steels and nickel based alloys in different heat transfer fluids are discussed in terms of corrosion rates.
KW - Concentrating solar power
KW - Heat transfer fluids
KW - High temperature corrosion
KW - Molten salts
KW - Thermal energy storage
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U2 - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.125
DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.125
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84924270995
VL - 146
SP - 383
EP - 396
JO - Applied Energy
JF - Applied Energy
SN - 0306-2619
ER -