Title: Solar thermal aerogel receiver and materials therefor

Abstract

A silica aerogel having a mean pore size less than 5 nm with a standard deviation of 3 nm. The silica aerogel may have greater than 95% solar-weighted transmittance at a thickness of 8 mm for wavelengths in the range of 250 nm to 2500 nm, and a 400° C. black-body weighted specific extinction coefficient of greater than 8 m2/kg for wavelengths of 1.5 μm to 15 μm. Silica aerogel synthesis methods are described. A solar thermal aerogel receiver (STAR) may include an opaque frame defining an opening, an aerogel layer disposed in the opaque frame, with at least a portion of the aerogel layer being proximate the opening, and a heat transfer fluid pipe in thermal contact with and proximate the aerogel layer. A concentrating solar energy system may include a STAR and at least one reflector to direct sunlight to an opening in the STAR.

Inventors:

Chen, Gang; Wang, Evelyn N.; Boriskina, Svetlana; Weinstein, Lee A.; Yang, Sungwoo; Bhatia, Bikramjit S.; Zhao, Lin; Strobach, Elise M.; Cooper, Thomas A.; Bierman, David M.; Huang, Xiaopeng; Loomis, James

Issue Date:

2023-12-26

Research Org.:

Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

2294005

Patent Number(s):

11851334

Application Number:

17/091,141

Assignee:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)

DOE Contract Number:  

AR0000471

Resource Type:

Patent

Resource Relation:

Patent File Date: 11/06/2020

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English