Operation of a commercial solar gel pond

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991 · Solar Energy (Journal of Solar Energy Science and Engineering); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(91)90054-Z· OSTI ID:5110008

Wilkens, E ^[1]

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1. Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque (United States)

The solar gel pond is an innovative concept which overcomes many of the shortcomings of the conventional salt-gradient solar pond. In this paper, the design, construction and start-up details of a commercial scale pond (400 m{sup 2}), built for a publishing company in Albuquerque, New Mexico will be presented. A pond with trapezoidal cross section was designed so that shadowing could be minimized and also the ratio of surface area to the volume of the storage zone could be maximized. The publishing company required a minimum of 1 GJ/day (1MBTU/day). Generally it has been noted that in ponds with large volume a lesser percentage of retained energy is lost as edge losses. Based on the above considerations a pond size of 400 m{sup 2} and 5 m deep with a gel thickness of 60 cm and a mass flow rate (for the heat extraction loop) of 1 {times} 10{sup {minus}4} to 1 {times} 10{sup {minus}3} kg/m{sup 2} {center dot} sec was determined to be the optimum size for the publishing company's needs. Two to seven percent salt water was used mainly to keep the gel bags floating on the surface. Tedlar bags were used to contain the gel. During the first year of operation, while the pond was still heating up, the pond obtained a temperature of 60C and the gel showed no signs of degradation.

• OSTI ID: 5110008
• Journal Information: Solar Energy (Journal of Solar Energy Science and Engineering); (United States), Journal Name: Solar Energy (Journal of Solar Energy Science and Engineering); (United States) Vol. 46:6; ISSN SRENA; ISSN 0038-092X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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14 SOLAR ENERGY
140905
141000* -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320301 -- Energy Conservation
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& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Energy Sources
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
BUILDINGS
COLLOIDS
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
CONSTRAINTS
CONSTRUCTION
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DEPTH
DESIGN
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
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FEDERAL REGION VI
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PONDS
PROCESS HEAT
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SHADING
SIZE
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SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR PONDS
SOLAR PROCESS HEAT
START-UP
SURFACE WATERS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
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