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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Dual purpose solar pond for evaporation and heat storage

Patent ·
OSTI ID:5455634

A solar pond serving the dual purposes of concentrating an aqueous brine by evaporation and simultaneously producing power by storage of incident solar radiation is disclosed. The so-stored solar energy is used by a heat machine. The solar pond has a concentrated aqueous brine which serves as the heat storage layer, and a halocline overlying the heat storage layer. An evaporation layer, whose density does not exceed that of the upper stratum of the halocline, overlies the halocline. A heat exchanger forms a part of a heat machine, and includes an organic, water-immiscible operating fluid as heat carrier, means for withdrawing hot brine from the heat storage layer to the heat exchanger, means for returning brine from the heat exchanger to the heat storage layer, a condenser for the operating fluid adapted for the throughflow of an aqueous coolant as heat sink, and means for feeding a warmed coolant emerging from the condenser to the evaporation layer.

Assignee:
Solmat Systems Ltd. (Israel)
Patent Number(s):
US 4498300
OSTI ID:
5455634
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English