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Salt-Free Solar: CSP Tower Using Air

By Mark Schmitz, Solar Institut Julich
March 12, 2009   |   6 Comments
Concentrating solar power (CSP) is an emerging technology that offers the potential to supply utility-scale peaking power competitively.

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The biggest rise in efficiency, however, will be due to scaling up the plants to power levels where steam cycles can operate more efficiently. With big industry and foreign governments standing in line for the construction of the next plant, the step in this direction seems to be at hand.
6 Reader Comments
Comment
1 of 6
March 13, 2009
This is a perfect Marriage to form alternative base load power,
My choice of partner ; Combined Heat & Power Biochar (CHPB) Systems, taking the energy cycle carbon negative.

http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/?q=node
Comment
2 of 6
March 13, 2009
This is a great concept for desert areas such as Arizona and Nevada where solar heat is a good renewable choice. This approach should also reduce the cost of the plant, since the expense of oil or molten salts is avoided. Could this use ammonia instead of water for steam?
Comment
3 of 6
March 14, 2009
This concept will be a breakthrough in desert area.
Can this be coupled for desalination plant.
Comment
4 of 6
March 14, 2009
I doubt that using an intermediate heat exchange fluid, especially a gas such as air, will be practical. The efficiency of a heat engine is a function of the temperature of the working fluid. For a given cold sink temperature, the greater the temperature of the working fluid before expansion, the greater the efficiency of the cycle. An intermediate heat exchange fluid inevitably reduces the maximum temperature of the working fluid. If the intermediate fluid is a gas, pumping losses will be high.

The best way to use a solar power tower is to heat compressed air as directly as possible for expansion in a turbine wheel. This would be more efficient and reliable than employing a complicated, high-maintenance steam cycle, and the equipment would not cost nearly as much. See AORA on this website and the report at

http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/solgate_en.pdf

To achieve the maximum possible efficiency, the air must be compressed isothermally. There is a way to do that, but I do not know of any plan to try it.
Comment
5 of 6
March 15, 2009
The world's first solar thermal power plant erected which uses air as the medium for heat transport???

To the best of my knowledge the first 250 kW demonstration plant was constructed in 1989 within the premises of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. It was a joint venture of the Institute, Ormat Tubines Ltd. and Israel Electric Corporation. This plant is detailed in the following publications:

• Weiner D. and Meron G.: "Brayton Cycle Used for Solar Power" Modern Power Systems, Vol. 9, No. 8, pp. 19-22, August 1989.

• Weiner, D., Meron, G.: "Use of the Brayton Cycle in Solar Electric Power Generation", ASME Paper 89-GT-101, Presented at the 34th ASME International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exposition, Toronto, June 5-8, 1989.

Dr. Dan Weiner, d_weiner@netvision.net.il
Comment
6 of 6
March 20, 2009
Is the Salt Free Solar tecnology commercialised and available for deployment in Indian market where e solar, Abengoa etc. are coloborating for implemetation of MW scale CSP plants(Tower Technology) with their Indian partners in the State of Rajasthan and Gujarat ?

I estimate that capital cost to drastically slide down as against parabolic trough and conventional Tower (Heliostate).

GOPAL LAL SOMANI
308 Neel Kanth Heights
Ramgali, Hawa Sarak,
Jaipur 302006.
Phone 91 141 2210951
Mobile 91 9414113199
email somani_gopallal@yahoo.co.in
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