Rainer Tamme

Advanced Thermal Energy Storage Technology for Parabolic Trough

The availability of storage capacity plays an important role for the economic success of solar thermal power plants. For todays parabolic trough power plants, sensible heat storage systems with operation temperatures between 300°C and 390°C can be used. A solid media sensible heat storage system is developed and will be tested in a parabolic trough test loop at PSA, Spain. A simulation tool for the analysis of the transient performance of solid media sensible heat storage systems has been implemented. The computed results show the influence of various parameters describing the storage system. While the effects of the storage material properties are limited, the selected geometry of the storage system is important. The evaluation of a storage system demands the analysis of the complete power plant and not only of the storage unit. Then the capacity of the system is defined by the electric work produced by the power plant, during a discharge process of the storage unit. The choice of the operation strategy for the storage system proves to be essential for the economic optimization.

Latent Heat Storage for Solar Steam Systems

Solar thermal systems, including direct steam generation in the absorbers, require isothermal energy storage systems. One option to fulfil this requirement is the application of phase change materials (PCMs) to absorb or release energy. The implementation of cost-effective storage systems demands the compensation of the low thermal heat conductivity that is characteristic for the candidate materials for PCM. Solar steam generation for power plants requires latent heat storage systems for a saturation temperature range between 200°C and 320°C. This paper describes the basic concepts investigated and first results of research activities aiming at the demonstration of a storage system using steam provided by parabolic trough collectors.

Solar Upgrading of Fuels for Generation of Electricity

This paper presents a novel process comprising solar upgrading of hydrocarbons by steam reforming in solar specific receiver-reactors and utilizing the upgraded, hydrogenrich fuel in high efficiency conversion systems, such as gas turbines or fuel cells. In comparison to conventionally heated processes about 30% of fuel can be saved with respect to the same specific output. Such processes can be used in small scale as a stand-alone system for off-grid markets as well as in large scale to be operated in connection with conventional combined-cycle plants. The complete reforming process will be demonstrated in the SOLASYS project, supported by the European Commission in the JOULE/THERMIE framework. The project has been started in June 1998. The SOLASYS plant is designed for 300 kW el output, it consists of the solar field, the solar reformer and a gas turbine, adjusted to operate with the reformed gas. The SOLASYS plant will be operated at the experimental solar test facility of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Start-up of the pilot plant is scheduled in April 2001. The midterm goal is to replace fossil fuels by renewable or non-conventional feedstock in order to increase the share of renewable energy and to establish processes with only minor or no CO 2 emission. Examples might be upgrading of bio-gas from municipal solid waste as well as upgrading of weak gas resources.

High Temperature Thermochemical Heat Storage for Concentrated Solar Power Using Gas–Solid Reactions

High temperature thermal storage technologies that can be easily integrated into future concentrated solar power plants are a key factor for increasing the market potential of solar power production. Storing thermal energy by reversible gas-solid reactions has the potential of achieving high storage densities while being adjustable to various plant configurations. In this paper the Ca(OH) 2 /CaO reaction system is investigated theoretically. It can achieve storage densities above 300 kWh/m 3 while operating in a temperature range between 400 and 600°C. Reactor concepts with indirect and direct heat transfer are being evaluated. The low thermal conductivity of the fixed bed of solid reactants turned out to considerably limit the performance of a storage tank with indirect heat input through the reactor walls. A one-dimensional model for the storage reactor is established and solved with the Finite Element Method. The reactor concept with direct heat transfer by flowing the gaseous reactant plus additional inert gas through the solid reactants did not show any limitation due to heat transfer. If reaction kinetics are fast enough, the reactor performance in case of the Ca(OH) 2 /CaO reaction system is limited by the thermal capacity of the gaseous stream to take-up heat of reaction. However, to limit pressure drop and the according losses for compression of the gas stream, the size of the storage system is restricted in a fixed bed configuration.

Solid Media Thermal Storage Development and Analysis of Modular Storage Operation Concepts for Parabolic Trough Power Plants

Cost-effective integrated storage systems are important components for the accelerated market penetration of solarthermal power plants. Besides extended utilization of the power block, the main benefits of storage systems are improved efficiency of components, and facilitated integration into the electrical grids. For parabolic trough power plants using synthetic oil as the heat transfer medium, the application of solid media sensible heat storage is an attractive option in terms of investment and maintenance costs. For commercial oil trough technology, a solid media sensible heat storage system was developed and tested. One focus of the project was the cost reduction of the heat exchanger; the second focus lies in the energetic and exergetic analysis of modular storage operation concepts, including a cost assessment of these concepts. The results show that technically there are various interesting ways to improve storage performance. However, these efforts do not improve the economical aspect. Therefore, the tube register with straight parallel tubes without additional structures to enhance heat transfer has been identified as the best option concerning manufacturing aspects and investment costs. The results of the energetic and exergetic analysis of modular storage integration and operation concepts show a significant potential for economic optimization. An increase of more than 100% in storage capacity or a reduction of more than a factor of 2 in storage size and therefore investment cost for the storage system was calculated. A complete economical analysis, including the additional costs for this concept on the solar field piping and control, still has to be performed.

Development of PCM Storage for Process Heat and Power Generation

The increased interest in solar thermal systems using steam as a working medium either for power generation or process heat applications gave rise to a growing demand for latent heat storage units. Essential for the development of cost-effective latent heat storage systems is the achievement of a sufficient power level in spite of the characteristic low thermal diffusivities of latent heat storage materials. The sandwich concept using fins made either from graphite or aluminum has been identified as the most promising option for latent heat storage systems. The feasibility of this approach has been demonstrated by three prototypes using graphite and one prototype using aluminum fins. The prototype with aluminum fins was filled with sodium nitrate and was operated for more than 4000 h without degradation of power. The volume specific average power density is in the range 10-25 kW/m 3 , so it is proven that the major problem of phase change material (PCM) storage of low heat transfer rates has been overcome and high-temperature PCM storage with large capacity factor is possible.

Latent Heat Storage Systems for Solar Thermal Power Plants and Process Heat Applications

Solar thermal systems using absorber evaporating steam directly require isothermal energy storage. The application of latent heat storage systems is an option to fulfill this demand. This concept has been demonstrated mainly for low temperature heating and refrigeration applications, the experience for the power level and temperature range characteristic of solar process heat and solar thermal power plants is limited. Cost effective implementation of the latent heat storage concept demands low cost phase change materials (PCMs). These PCMs usually show low thermal conductivity limiting the power density during the charging/discharging process. This paper describes various approaches, which have been investigated to overcome these limitations. Based on fundamental PCM-research and laboratory-scale experiments, the sandwich concept has been identified to show the highest potential. The sandwich concept has been demonstrated successfully for three different storage units ranging from 2 kW to 100 kW at melting temperatures of 145°C and 225°C.

Overview of PCMs for concentrated solar power in the temperature range 200 to 350 °C

Thermal energy storage is an essential advantage of solar thermal power plants. The present paper focuses on latent heat storage using a phase change material (PCM). The paper lists literature and gives the current status of PCM work in the temperature range 200 to 350 °C. The system KNO3-NaNO3 is discussed in detail in terms of their thermo-physical properties in the liquid and solid phase. A comparison of literature data and own measurements for the density, heat capacity, thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity is presented. Measurement results with the following methods are discussed: helium pycnometer, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and laser flash. Missing data of the thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity are partly supplemented. Consistent thermo-physical properties in the liquid phase are presented.

Air-Sand Heat Exchanger for High-Temperature Storage

In view of rising energy prices and an increasing share of power generated by renewable energy sources, the importance of energy storage is growing. In the framework of this project, a thermal energy storage concept for solar power towers is being developed, in which quartz sand serves as a storage medium. Sand is suitable due to its properties such as high thermal stability, specific heat capacity, and low-cost availability. Compared with storages based on ceramic bodies, the use of sand promises to reduce costs of energy storage and thus to reduce the costs of electricity generation. In addition, the storage concept could be applicable in the steel industry. The central element of the storage concept is an air-sand heat exchanger, which is presently under development. This paper describes simulation results and measurements of the heat exchanger prototype. It includes sand flow behavior and experience with different porous walls as well as up-scaling options.

CFD Analysis of the Cool Down Behaviour of Molten Salt Thermal Storage Systems

CFD analysis has been conducted to obtain information on heat losses, velocity and temperature distribution of large molten salt Thermal Energy Storage (TES) systems. A two-tank 880 MWh storage system was modeled according to the molten salt TES containment design proposed for the 50 MWel commercial parabolic trough solar thermal power plants in Spain. Heat losses were established using the Finite Element Method (FEM), and used to determine the boundary conditions for the subsequent two- and three-dimensional Computational Fluid Mechanics (CFD) calculations. The investigations reveal that a high heat loss flux occurs at the lower edges of the salt storage tanks (between side wall and bottom plate). Thus the maximum temperature difference can be found at this location, resulting in the onset of local solidification within 3.25 days in the case of the empty cool tank. As a consequence, the detailed design of the lower edge has a large impact on both the overall heat losses and the period until the onset of local solidification.