A two-step procedure for the selection of innovative high temperature heat transfer fluids in solar tower power plants

Giampaolo Manzolini, Gaia Lucca, Marco Binotti and Giovanni Lozza

Renewable Energy, 2021, vol. 177, issue C, 807-822

Abstract: This work compares with a two-step procedure the performance of different Heat Transfer Fluids (HTF) for high temperature receiver applications (up to 715 °C) in advanced Solar Tower (ST) plants. The most promising molten salts and liquid metals are initially selected and ranked according to their performance, estimated with different Figures of Merit (FoM) available in literature or newly defined. For the best performing fluids, different hydraulic configurations and tube diameters at fixed receiver size are tested. The optimized external tubular receiver configuration for each HTF is then implemented in a ST plant and its performance is assessed through a detailed techno-economic analysis, considering the use of a direct thermal energy storage system and of a sCO2 based power cycle. As a second step, the yearly electricity yield and the LCOE are evaluated for two different sites. Results show NaCl–MgCl2 as the best option for the considered type of plant with a LCOE of 151 $/MWh, which is anyhow 10% higher than the reference Solar Salts case.

Keywords: Solar tower; Heat transfer fluid; Figure of merit; High temperature receiver; Tubular receiver; Techno-economic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148121008429
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:177:y:2021:i:c:p:807-822

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.05.153

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides

More articles in Renewable Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().