Concentrated Solar Technology Research Articles

Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Solar Driven Metal Oxide Thermochemical Cycles

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVCommentaryNEXTFactors Affecting the Efficiency of Solar Driven Metal Oxide Thermochemical CyclesNathan P. Siegel*, James E. Miller, Ivan Ermanoski, Richard B. Diver, and Ellen B. StechelView Author Information Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837, United States Advanced Materials Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106, United States Concentrating Solar Technologies Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106, United States Diver Solar LLC, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, United States LightWorks and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-7205, United States*Tel.: 1-570-577-3827. Fax: 1-570-577 7281. E-mail: [email protected]Cite this: Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2013, 52, 9, 3276–3286Publication Date (Web):January 29, 2013Publication History Published online21 February 2013Published inissue 6 March 2013https://doi.org/10.1021/ie400193qCopyright © 2013 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views1590Altmetric-Citations127LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit Read OnlinePDF (2 MB) Get e-AlertsSUBJECTS:Materials,Oxides,Redox reactions,Solar energy,Transfer reactions Get e-Alerts

Thermal analysis of solar receiver pipes with superheated steam

Direct steam generation (DSG) process in the absorber tubes of parabolic-trough solar collectors is experiencing an important development in the last decade. This concentrated solar technology can be used in solar fields for electricity production or industrial-process heat supply. The modeling and simulation of the DSG process in the parabolic-troughs are essential for the detailed design of the collector field. One of the critical aspects that should be identified is which process conditions may cause an overheating of the absorber tubes.A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to calculate the temperature profile in the wall of absorber tubes of parabolic-trough solar collectors using steam as heat-transfer fluid. Steam presents lower thermal conductivity than water or other typical liquid heat-transfer fluids used in parabolic troughs. Therefore, for similar process conditions, the thermal stress in the absorber tubes is higher when the fluid is steam. The Finite Volume Method (FVM) package FLUENT is used to implement the model and to perform the investigation. This article summarizes the model used and a comparison of simulation results and measurements taken at a DSG solar test facility located at the Plataforma Solar de Almería, Spain.

A Message From the Editor

Dear authors and readers of the JSEE,As Editor of the ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering and Wind Energy, this is again my great pleasure to introduce and promote this special edition on Solar Thermal Electricity. Development of renewable energies should be at the core of our concerns for the future and the Solar Thermal Electricity technology has a major role to play in this.Over the past few years, the interest for STE has spread among the international community. At present, this is clearly concretized with the construction of several plants at a world level. Support programs are growing, contracts are being signed. This foresees a strong development of this technology in the next years but to promote innovations in the field, we must not lose sight of the fact that R&D should be reinforced. The publication of such a special issue comes then in a timely moment to emphasize the importance of R&D in STE.Most of the scientific papers selected for this special issue have been presented at the 2010 and 2011 SolarPACES Conferences (SolarPACES is an IEA Annex). This conference is one of the only one to be devoted to Concentrated Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems. It has earned through the years an excellent reputation for being a high-quality forum where the R&D sector as well as the financial, political, and industrial sector can meet and exchange over the last trends in CSP. The number of participants keeps increasing over the years, which is a good illustration of the growing interest in concentrated solar technologies and STE.This special issue displays 18 papers (from SolarPACES and others), highlighting scientific and technological innovations in a variety of subjects common in STE R&D:The scientific and technological progress presented through these papers is the perfect illustration that the future of the Solar Thermal Energy sector is promising with the research community having a particular role but this cannot be done without communicating on the R&D results. I therefore encourage you all to carry on your efforts in the field and submit your research work to the JSEE.To conclude, I would like to thank the authors for their excellent papers and also the reviewers that have worked voluntarily to complete on time the review process for this issue. Associate Editors are sincerely thanked for their efforts as well as the JSEE Editorial Board and ASME staff who have been of great help in the publication of this issue.

A Review of Hybrid Solar–Fossil Fuel Power Generation Systems and Performance Metrics

A literature review of hybrid solar–fossil fuel power generation is given with an emphasis on system integration and evaluation. Hybrid systems are defined as those which use solar energy and fuel simultaneously, thus excluding the viable alternative of solar thermal plants which use fossil fuels as backup. The review is divided into three main sections: performance metrics, the different concentrated solar receiver technologies and their operating conditions, and the different hybridization schemes. In addition, a new linear combination metric for analysis of hybrid systems, which considers trade-off of different metrics at the fleet level, is presented. This metric is also compared to alternative metrics from multi-objective optimization. Some previous work only evaluates the hybrid cycle at a certain point in time, which can be misleading as this evaluation would not take into account certain aspects of hybrid cycle, such as fluctuating solar supply. Furthermore, almost all previous work designs the hybrid solar–fossil fuel systems for a certain point in time and then evaluates the performance of the system for an entire year. By not taking into account fluctuating solar supply and selling price of electricity in the design of the system, the best possible annual performance of the hybrid cycle may not be reached.

CONCENTRADORES SOLARES EN IBEROAMERICA: UNA PERSPECTIVA PARA LA EDUACION EN COLOMBIA

La presente propuesta investigativa surge con el objetivo de promover espacios educativos que generen en las poblaciones con bajos índices de cubrimiento o sin servicio de agua potable y energía, actitudes y acciones que les permitan mejorar su calidad de vida, y mediante el uso de conceptos físico básicos de radiometría disponer a las comunidades para la apropiación de tecnologías de concentración solar; con este objeto se realizó una revisión bibliográfica en el área de energías alternativas en Iberoamérica, para evaluar la pertinencia de su réplica en nuestro contexto. Del mismo modo se contrastó estadísticamente los territorios que presentan deficiencia en los servicios básicos, respecto a regiones de alto contenido energético solar, donde se encontraron las zonas más pertinentes para la utilización de dichas herramientas tecnológicas que contribuyen a remediar las falencias anteriormente mencionadas.

Solar Concentrators: Using Optics to Boost Photovoltaics

The use of solar energy requires optimizing each part of a photovoltaic system: collection optics, the photovoltaic array, switches, controllers, current inverters, storage devices and tracking mechanics. A vast amount of research is currently focused on perfecting each of these areas. Several types of solar concentrator technology are transitioning from the R&D stage to commercial deployment.

2A-5 Programming of energy balance alterations in early life leptin and hypothalamic development by maternal nutritional manipulation

Green-synthesized materials and solar concentration technology for advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) offer important opportunities in water remediation by giving value to clean, renewable and potentially low-cost resources. Here, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures (NSs) were prepared via a green synthesis method based on garlic bulbs (Allium Sativum) extract (ZnO-Green), resulting in crystalline (wurtzite) nanorods (NRs). ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were also chemically prepared through a standard co-precipitation (ZnO-Chem) for comparative solar photocatalytic (PC) studies. The green-synthesized ZnO NRs exhibited a favorable photocatalytic activity (PCA) in colloidal suspension for the methylene blue (MB) dye degradation upon exposure to concentrated sunlight. Comparison with the chemically synthesized ZnO results in almost equal degradations of 94% in optimal loading condition. To explore the possibility to use immobilized photocatalyst in heterogeneous condition, green-synthesized ZnO NRs coatings were fabricated and compared with a 135 nm thick ZnO thin film produced by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) (ZnO-PLD). PCA on MB degradation (120 min experiments) resulted in degradations of 69% and 73%, respectively, proving the feasibility of the immobilized photocatalyst approach. Finally, an economic analysis of the process shows that the combination of green-synthesis and concentrated sunlight significantly reduces costs, paving the way for large-scale photocatalytic wastewater remediation.

1B-7 The effect of birthweight and gender on the expression of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) in omental adipose tissue in the postnatal lamb

Green-synthesized materials and solar concentration technology for advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) offer important opportunities in water remediation by giving value to clean, renewable and potentially low-cost resources. Here, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures (NSs) were prepared via a green synthesis method based on garlic bulbs (Allium Sativum) extract (ZnO-Green), resulting in crystalline (wurtzite) nanorods (NRs). ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were also chemically prepared through a standard co-precipitation (ZnO-Chem) for comparative solar photocatalytic (PC) studies. The green-synthesized ZnO NRs exhibited a favorable photocatalytic activity (PCA) in colloidal suspension for the methylene blue (MB) dye degradation upon exposure to concentrated sunlight. Comparison with the chemically synthesized ZnO results in almost equal degradations of 94% in optimal loading condition. To explore the possibility to use immobilized photocatalyst in heterogeneous condition, green-synthesized ZnO NRs coatings were fabricated and compared with a 135 nm thick ZnO thin film produced by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) (ZnO-PLD). PCA on MB degradation (120 min experiments) resulted in degradations of 69% and 73%, respectively, proving the feasibility of the immobilized photocatalyst approach. Finally, an economic analysis of the process shows that the combination of green-synthesis and concentrated sunlight significantly reduces costs, paving the way for large-scale photocatalytic wastewater remediation.

2E-3 Developmental and lifetime social influences on physical capability and body composition in later life

Green-synthesized materials and solar concentration technology for advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) offer important opportunities in water remediation by giving value to clean, renewable and potentially low-cost resources. Here, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures (NSs) were prepared via a green synthesis method based on garlic bulbs (Allium Sativum) extract (ZnO-Green), resulting in crystalline (wurtzite) nanorods (NRs). ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were also chemically prepared through a standard co-precipitation (ZnO-Chem) for comparative solar photocatalytic (PC) studies. The green-synthesized ZnO NRs exhibited a favorable photocatalytic activity (PCA) in colloidal suspension for the methylene blue (MB) dye degradation upon exposure to concentrated sunlight. Comparison with the chemically synthesized ZnO results in almost equal degradations of 94% in optimal loading condition. To explore the possibility to use immobilized photocatalyst in heterogeneous condition, green-synthesized ZnO NRs coatings were fabricated and compared with a 135 nm thick ZnO thin film produced by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) (ZnO-PLD). PCA on MB degradation (120 min experiments) resulted in degradations of 69% and 73%, respectively, proving the feasibility of the immobilized photocatalyst approach. Finally, an economic analysis of the process shows that the combination of green-synthesis and concentrated sunlight significantly reduces costs, paving the way for large-scale photocatalytic wastewater remediation.

Design and simulation of a low concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system

The advantages of photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors and low solar concentration technologies are combined into a photovoltaic/thermal system to increase the solar energy conversion efficiency. This paper presents a prototype 11X concentration rate and two axis tracking system. The main novelty is the coupling of a linear Fresnel concentrator with a channel photovoltaic/thermal collector. An analytical model to simulate the thermal behaviour of the prototype is proposed and validated. Measured thermal performance of the solar system gives values above 60%. Theoretical analysis confirms that thermal conduction between the PV cells and the absorber plate is a critical parameter.

Recent gains in solar concentrator technology.

Continuing development of solar concentrator technology has been directel toward the improvement of methods and materials of construction to satisfy the particular design requirements of various space power conversion devices. Fabrication techniques and recent results from investigations made on concentrators are discussed. For one-piece concentrators, the stretch-formed aluminum process now yields the high accuracy formerly obtained only by electroforming nickel. The aluminum electroforming process has been scaled up to 0.76m-diam concentrators. Two accurate 2.90-m-diam plastic spin castings have been fabricated; however, the concentrators subsequently electroformed of nickel were not of comparable quality. In the area of expandable concentrators, a modified model of the whirling membrane concept has given improved concentration of energy; however, the design parabolic cross section has not been attained. A 1.52-m-diam inflatable concentrator that was rigidized with a polyurethane foam in a simulated space environment gave an efficiency of 0.65 compared to a Rankine cycle design efficiency of 0.85.