IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v142y2015icp56-65.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Transient analysis of the cooling process of molten salt thermal storage tanks due to standby heat loss

Author

Listed:
  • Suárez, Christian
  • Iranzo, Alfredo
  • Pino, F.J.
  • Guerra, J.

Abstract

Molten salts consisting of 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium nitrate have been used successfully as a thermal energy collection and storage fluid in different solar thermal plants. However, the relatively high melting point of this mixture (221°C) represents an important risk of local solidification in the operation of the solar power plants during standby periods. In this work, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed to analyze the cooling process of representative state-of-the-art molten salt thermal storage tanks during these standby periods. A comprehensive set of operating conditions is analyzed, covering both hot and cold storage tanks, charging levels, and heat losses. Results show that the onset of local crystallization is highly influenced by the tank charging level. While the risk is relatively high in the case of the minimum charging level, in the case of maximum charging level the risk is minimal as it would require a very long standby period. To summarize the results, this work presents a safe charging level calculation, as a function of the operation temperature and the expected standby duration, which could be used as part of an appropriate operational strategy to avoid the risk of freezing for long standby periods. The model assumptions, the different configurations studied and their results are presented and discussed in detail.

Suggested Citation

  • Suárez, Christian & Iranzo, Alfredo & Pino, F.J. & Guerra, J., 2015. "Transient analysis of the cooling process of molten salt thermal storage tanks due to standby heat loss," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 56-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:142:y:2015:i:c:p:56-65
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.12.082
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261914013397
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.12.082?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rodríguez, I. & Pérez-Segarra, C.D. & Lehmkuhl, O. & Oliva, A., 2013. "Modular object-oriented methodology for the resolution of molten salt storage tanks for CSP plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 402-414.
    2. Xu, Chao & Wang, Zhifeng & He, Yaling & Li, Xin & Bai, Fengwu, 2012. "Sensitivity analysis of the numerical study on the thermal performance of a packed-bed molten salt thermocline thermal storage system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 65-75.
    3. Han, Y.M. & Wang, R.Z. & Dai, Y.J., 2009. "Thermal stratification within the water tank," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 1014-1026, June.
    4. Yang, Zhen & Garimella, Suresh V., 2010. "Molten-salt thermal energy storage in thermoclines under different environmental boundary conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(11), pages 3322-3329, November.
    5. Ghaddar, N. K. & Al-Marafie, A. M. & Al-Kandari, A., 1989. "Numerical simulation of stratification behaviour in thermal storage tanks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 225-239.
    6. Zipf, Verena & Neuhäuser, Anton & Willert, Daniel & Nitz, Peter & Gschwander, Stefan & Platzer, Werner, 2013. "High temperature latent heat storage with a screw heat exchanger: Design of prototype," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 462-469.
    7. Cavallaro, Fausto, 2010. "Fuzzy TOPSIS approach for assessing thermal-energy storage in concentrated solar power (CSP) systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 496-503, February.
    8. Rovira, Antonio & Montes, María José & Valdes, Manuel & Martínez-Val, José María, 2011. "Energy management in solar thermal power plants with double thermal storage system and subdivided solar field," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(11), pages 4055-4066.
    9. Tian, Y. & Zhao, C.Y., 2013. "A review of solar collectors and thermal energy storage in solar thermal applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 538-553.
    10. Herrmann, Ulf & Kelly, Bruce & Price, Henry, 2004. "Two-tank molten salt storage for parabolic trough solar power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 883-893.
    11. Dominguez, R. & Baringo, L. & Conejo, A.J., 2012. "Optimal offering strategy for a concentrating solar power plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 316-325.
    12. Flueckiger, Scott & Yang, Zhen & Garimella, Suresh V., 2011. "An integrated thermal and mechanical investigation of molten-salt thermocline energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(6), pages 2098-2105, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nation, Deju D. & Heggs, Peter J. & Dixon-Hardy, Darron W., 2017. "Modelling and simulation of a novel Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Receiver for Solar Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 950-973.
    2. Xiaoming Zhang & Yuting Wu & Chongfang Ma & Qiang Meng & Xiao Hu & Cenyu Yang, 2019. "Experimental Study on Temperature Distribution and Heat Losses of a Molten Salt Heat Storage Tank," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-14, May.
    3. He, Canming & Lu, Jianfeng & Ding, Jing & Wang, Weilong & Yuan, Yibo, 2017. "Heat transfer and thermal performance of two-stage molten salt steam generation system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 1231-1239.
    4. Tagle-Salazar, Pablo D. & Prieto, Cristina & López-Román, Anton & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2023. "A transient heat losses model for two-tank storage systems with molten salts," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    5. Li, Qing & Bai, Fengwu & Yang, Bei & Wang, Zhifeng & El Hefni, Baligh & Liu, Sijie & Kubo, Syuichi & Kiriki, Hiroaki & Han, Mingxu, 2016. "Dynamic simulation and experimental validation of an open air receiver and a thermal energy storage system for solar thermal power plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 281-293.
    6. Lappalainen, Jari & Hakkarainen, Elina & Sihvonen, Teemu & Rodríguez-García, Margarita M. & Alopaeus, Ville, 2019. "Modelling a molten salt thermal energy system – A validation study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 126-145.
    7. Cristina Prieto & Adrian Blindu & Luisa F. Cabeza & Juan Valverde & Guillermo García, 2023. "Molten Salts Tanks Thermal Energy Storage: Aspects to Consider during Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-19, December.
    8. Villada, Carolina & Bonk, Alexander & Bauer, Thomas & Bolívar, Francisco, 2018. "High-temperature stability of nitrate/nitrite molten salt mixtures under different atmospheres," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 107-115.
    9. Yu, Qiang & Li, Xiaolei & Wang, Zhifeng & Zhang, Qiangqiang, 2020. "Modeling and dynamic simulation of thermal energy storage system for concentrating solar power plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    10. Song, Xiaoqian & Geng, Yong & Zhang, Yuquan & Zhang, Xi & Gao, Ziyan & Li, Minghang, 2022. "Dynamic potassium flows analysis in China for 2010–2019," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Odenthal, Christian & Steinmann, Wolf-Dieter & Zunft, Stefan, 2020. "Analysis of a horizontal flow closed loop thermal energy storage system in pilot scale for high temperature applications – Part II: Numerical investigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    12. Khan, Mohammed Mumtaz A. & Saidur, R. & Al-Sulaiman, Fahad A., 2017. "A review for phase change materials (PCMs) in solar absorption refrigeration systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 105-137.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rodríguez, I. & Pérez-Segarra, C.D. & Lehmkuhl, O. & Oliva, A., 2013. "Modular object-oriented methodology for the resolution of molten salt storage tanks for CSP plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 402-414.
    2. Qin, Frank G.F. & Yang, Xiaoping & Ding, Zhan & Zuo, Yuanzhi & Shao, Youyan & Jiang, Runhua & Yang, Xiaoxi, 2012. "Thermocline stability criterions in single-tanks of molten salt thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 816-821.
    3. Liu, Ming & Steven Tay, N.H. & Bell, Stuart & Belusko, Martin & Jacob, Rhys & Will, Geoffrey & Saman, Wasim & Bruno, Frank, 2016. "Review on concentrating solar power plants and new developments in high temperature thermal energy storage technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1411-1432.
    4. González, Ignacio & Pérez-Segarra, Carlos David & Lehmkuhl, Oriol & Torras, Santiago & Oliva, Assensi, 2016. "Thermo-mechanical parametric analysis of packed-bed thermocline energy storage tanks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1106-1122.
    5. Fasquelle, T. & Falcoz, Q. & Neveu, P. & Hoffmann, J.-F., 2018. "A temperature threshold evaluation for thermocline energy storage in concentrated solar power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1153-1164.
    6. Filali Baba, Yousra & Al Mers, Ahmed & Ajdad, Hamid, 2020. "Dimensionless model based on dual phase approach for predicting thermal performance of thermocline energy storage system: Towards a new approach for thermocline thermal optimization," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 440-455.
    7. Sait, Hani H. & Martinez-Val, Jose M. & Abbas, Ruben & Munoz-Anton, Javier, 2015. "Fresnel-based modular solar fields for performance/cost optimization in solar thermal power plants: A comparison with parabolic trough collectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 175-189.
    8. Galione, P.A. & Pérez-Segarra, C.D. & Rodríguez, I. & Oliva, A. & Rigola, J., 2015. "Multi-layered solid-PCM thermocline thermal storage concept for CSP plants. Numerical analysis and perspectives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 337-351.
    9. Gang Wang & Tong Wang, 2022. "Effect Evaluation of Filling Medium Parameters on Operating and Mechanical Performances of Liquid Heavy Metal Heat Storage Tank," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-17, November.
    10. Tagle-Salazar, Pablo D. & Prieto, Cristina & López-Román, Anton & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2023. "A transient heat losses model for two-tank storage systems with molten salts," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    11. Yi, Yuan & Nakayama, Akira, 2024. "A three-energy equation model and estimation of effective thermal properties for transient analysis of bi-disperse packed bed thermocline storage system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    12. Nation, Deju D. & Heggs, Peter J. & Dixon-Hardy, Darron W., 2017. "Modelling and simulation of a novel Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Receiver for Solar Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) power plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 950-973.
    13. Chang, Zheshao & Li, Xin & Xu, Chao & Chang, Chun & Wang, Zhifeng & Zhang, Qiangqiang & Liao, Zhirong & Li, Qing, 2016. "The effect of the physical boundary conditions on the thermal performance of molten salt thermocline tank," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA), pages 190-202.
    14. Pintaldi, Sergio & Perfumo, Cristian & Sethuvenkatraman, Subbu & White, Stephen & Rosengarten, Gary, 2015. "A review of thermal energy storage technologies and control approaches for solar cooling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 975-995.
    15. Flueckiger, Scott M. & Iverson, Brian D. & Garimella, Suresh V. & Pacheco, James E., 2014. "System-level simulation of a solar power tower plant with thermocline thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 86-96.
    16. Ravaghi-Ardebili, Zohreh & Manenti, Flavio, 2015. "Unified modeling and feasibility study of novel green pathway of biomass to methanol/dimethylether," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 278-294.
    17. Mahmoudimehr, Javad & Sebghati, Parvin, 2019. "A novel multi-objective Dynamic Programming optimization method: Performance management of a solar thermal power plant as a case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 796-814.
    18. Garbrecht, Oliver & Bieber, Malte & Kneer, Reinhold, 2017. "Increasing fossil power plant flexibility by integrating molten-salt thermal storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 876-883.
    19. Wang, Letian & Yang, Zhen & Duan, Yuanyuan, 2015. "Influence of flow distribution on the thermal performance of dual-media thermocline energy storage systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 283-292.
    20. Flueckiger, Scott M. & Garimella, Suresh V., 2014. "Latent heat augmentation of thermocline energy storage for concentrating solar power – A system-level assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 278-287.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:142:y:2015:i:c:p:56-65. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.