Liquid sodium versus Hitec as a heat transfer fluid in solar thermal central receiver systems |
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Authors: | Nicholas Boerema Graham Morrison Robert Taylor Gary Rosengarten |
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Affiliation: | 1. School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;2. School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Vic. 3001, Australia;1. GREiA, INSPIRES Research Centre, University of Lleida, Pere de Cabrera s/n, 25001, Lleida, Spain;2. Abengoa, c/ Energía Solar 1, 41012 Sevilla, Spain;1. Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, ROC;2. Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, ROC;3. Low Carbon Energy Research Center, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, ROC;1. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies, Hermann-von-Helmholz Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany;2. German Aerospace Center (DLR) – Institute for Solar Research, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany;1. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 46344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany;2. German Aerospace Center DLR, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany;3. Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy |
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Abstract: | Selection of an appropriate HTF is important for minimising the cost of the solar receiver, thermal storage and heat exchangers, and for achieving high receiver and cycle efficiencies. Current molten salt HTFs have high melting points (142–240 °C) and degrade above 600 °C. Sodium’s low melting point (97.7 °C) and high boiling point (873 °C) allow for a much larger range of operational temperatures. Most importantly, the high temperatures of sodium allow the use of advanced cycles (e.g. combined Brayton/Rankine cycles). In this study, a comparison between the thermophysical properties of two heat transfer fluids (HTFs), Hitec (a ternary molten salt 53% KNO3 + 40% NaNO2 + 7% NaNO3) and liquid sodium (Na), has been carried out to determine their suitability for use in high-temperature concentrated solar thermal central-receiver systems for power generation. To do this, a simple receiver model was developed to determine the influences of the fluids’ characteristics on receiver design and efficiency. While liquid sodium shows potential for solar thermal power systems due to its wide range of operation temperatures, it also has two other important differences – a high heat transfer coefficient (~an order of magnitude greater than Hitec) and a low heat capacity (30–50% lower than Hitec salt). These issues are studied in depth in this model. Overall, we found that liquid sodium is potentially a very attractive alternative to molten salts in next generation solar thermal power generation if its limitations can be overcome. |
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