Thermal energy storage technologies and systems for concentrating solar power plants

Energy storage: Applications and challenges

A concentrating solar power (CSP) system converts sunlight into a heat source which can be used to drive a conventional power plant. Thermal energy storage (TES) improves the dispatchability of a CSP plant. Heat can be stored in either sensible, latent or thermochemical storage. Commercial deployment of CSP systems have been achieved in recent years with the two-tank sensible storage system using molten salt as the storage medium. Considerable research effort has been conducted to improve the efficiency of the CSP system and make the cost of electricity comparable to that of the conventional fossil-fuel power plant. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of CSP plants both in operation and under construction. It covers the available technologies for the receiver, thermal storage, power block and heat transfer fluid. This paper also reviews developments in high temperature TES over the past decade with a focus on sensible and latent heat storage. High temperature corrosion and economic aspects of these systems are also discussed.

Review on concentrating solar power plants and new developments in high temperature thermal energy storage technologies

Designing a cost-effective phase change thermal storage system involves two challenging aspects: one is to select a suitable storage material and the other is to increase the heat transfer between the storage material and the heat transfer fluid as the performance of the system is limited by the poor thermal conductivity of the latent heat storage material. When used for storing energy in concentrated solar thermal power plants, the solar field operation temperature will determine the PCM melting temperature selection. This paper reviews concentrated solar thermal power plants that are currently operating and under construction. It also reviews phase change materials with melting temperatures above 300 °C, which potentially can be used as energy storage media in these plants. In addition, various techniques employed to enhance the thermal performance of high temperature phase change thermal storage systems have been reviewed and discussed. This review aims to provide the necessary information for further research in the development of cost-effective high temperature phase change thermal storage systems.

Review on storage materials and thermal performance enhancement techniques for high temperature phase change thermal storage systems

Thermal energy storage: Recent developments and practical aspects

Thermal energy storage for direct steam generation

Efficient energy storage is vital to the success of solar thermal power generation and industrial waste heat recovery A sensible heat storage system using concrete as the storage material has been developed by the German building company Ed Zublin AG and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) A major focus was the cost reduction in the heat exchanger and the high temperature concrete storage material For live tests and further improvements, a 20 m 3 solid media storage test module connected to an electrically heated thermal oil loop was built in Stuttgart The design of the test module and the test results are described in this paper By the end of November 2008, the second generation solid media storage test module had accumulated five months of operation in the temperature range between 300°C and 400°C and almost 100 thermal cycles with a temperature difference of 40 K The tests will be continued in 2009

Test Results of Concrete Thermal Energy Storage for Parabolic Trough Power Plants

For the future market potential of parabolic trough power plants with direct steam generation (DSG), it is beneficial to integrate a thermal storage system. Heat storage media based on phase change materials offer heat transfer at constant temperatures needed for the evaporation process. Different options for a plant layout are presented and discussed. The interactions between the three subsystems—solar field, power block, and thermal storage—are analyzed, and boundary conditions arising from the thermal storage system are identified. Compared with a system without storage the number of operating points increases significantly since different combinations of storage charge and discharge operations go along with a varying power output of the solar field. It is shown that the large number of theoretical operating points can be reduced to a subset with practical relevance. Depending on the live steam parameters a reheat is necessary within the power block. Compared with parabolic trough fields with a single phase heat transfer medium such as oil, a special heat exchanger configuration is needed for a DSG plant. Different alternatives based on available technologies are presented and evaluated.

/pdf/a-direct-steam-generation-solar-power-plant-with-integrated-4ik91qgufj.pdf

A direct steam generation solar power plant with integrated thermal storage

Processes with a two-phase heat transfer fluid (e.g. water/steam) require isothermal energy storage. Latent heat storage systems are an option to fulfil this demand. For high temperature applications nitrate salts are suitable materials for phase change storage. The main drawback of these materials is the low thermal conductivity, limiting the power density during the charging/discharging process. At DLR the so called sandwich-concept has been developed to realize latent heat storage with high power densities for applications in solar thermal power plants and process industry. This concept has already been demonstrated successfully for three different storage units ranging from 2-100 kW at melting temperatures of 142 °C and 222 °C. In 2008, a test storage using sodium nitrate as phase change material (PCM) with a melting temperature of 306 °C was operated in a 5 kW laboratory loop. The designed heat transfer rate was achieved and after 172 cycles no degradation was observed.

/pdf/advanced-high-temperature-latent-heat-storage-system-design-1nhwqxdeq9.pdf

Advanced high temperature latent heat storage system - design and test results

For future parabolic trough plants direct steam generation in the absorber pipes is a promising option for reducing the costs of solar thermal power generation. These new solar thermal power plants require innovative storage concepts, where the two-phase heat transfer fluid poses a major challenge. A three-part storage system is proposed where a phase change material (PCM) storage will be deployed for the two-phase evaporation, while concrete storage will be used for storing sensible heat, i.e., for preheating of water and superheating of steam. A pinch analysis helps to recognize interface constraints imposed by the solar field and the power block and describes a way to dimension the latent and sensible components. Laboratory test results of a PCM test module with ∼140 kg NaNO 3 , applying the sandwich concept for enhancement of heat transfer, are presented, proving the expected capacity and power density. The concrete storage material for sensible heat was improved to allow the operation up to 500°C for direct steam generation. A storage system with a total storage capacity of ∼1 MWh is described, combining a PCM module and a concrete module, which will be tested in 2009 under real steam conditions around 100 bars.

Dorothea Lehmann

Papers

Thermal energy storage for direct steam generation

Test Results of Concrete Thermal Energy Storage for Parabolic Trough Power Plants

A direct steam generation solar power plant with integrated thermal storage

Advanced high temperature latent heat storage system - design and test results

Development of a Thermal Energy Storage System for Parabolic Trough Power Plants With Direct Steam Generation