Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Solar receiver steam systems

Journal Article · · Chem. Eng. Prog.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5760558
This article examines production of steam for process heating as a potentially significant market for near-term application of solar thermal technology to industrial plants. For conditions of little or no storage, several different technologies can be used to supply saturated steam for industrial process heat applications at roughly equal cost. A user can choose a solar central receiver system with a heat transfer fluid for which he has experience and feels relatively confident that no other system is substantially more cost-effective. Process steam represents an additional market for the 1,050/sup 0/F (566/sup 0/C) molten salt receiver system currently being developed for electrical power production. For conditions of large amounts of storage, advantages of collecting energy at temperatures considerably higher than the application temperature are clearly demonstrated. Relatively constant energy costs over a large range of capacity factors provide a clear justification for thermal storage. For the 550/sup 0/F (288/sup 0/C) application, energy costs with the 1,050/sup 0/F (566/sup 0/C) salt system increased by less than 13% between a capacity factor of 0.27 and a capacity factor of 0.66. For the 350/sup 0/F (176/sup 0/C) application, energy costs with the 550/sup 0/F (288/sup 0/C) oil system were constant over a range of capacity factors from 0.27 to 0.67. For both application temperatures, the most cost-effective systems directly store the receiver fluid: salt for the higher temperature, and oil for the lower temperature. Direct storage reduces complexity by eliminating the need for charging heat exchangers and maximizes temperature swing across the storage subsystem.
Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550
OSTI ID:
5760558
Journal Information:
Chem. Eng. Prog.; (United States), Journal Name: Chem. Eng. Prog.; (United States) Vol. 79:1; ISSN CEPRA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English