A New Approach to Low-Cost, Solar Salt-Resistant Structural Materials for Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and Thermal Energy Storage (TES)

Metals

Alexander Bonk¹  Thomas Bauer¹  Bernd Kuhn²  Fadoua Aarab² 

[1] German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, Linder Höhe Bldg. 26, 51147 Cologne, Germany;Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK), Microstructure and Properties of Materials (IEK-2), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany;

关键词: concentrating solar power;    salt corrosion resistance;    protective Al₂O₃ scale;    structural material development;   

DOI  :  10.3390/met11121970

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

“Concentrated solar power” (CSP) and thermal energy storage (TES) are promising renewable energy technologies, which have gained increasing interest and practical application in recent years. CSP and TES systems typically utilize molten salts such as the so-called “solar salt”, a mixture of 60 wt.% NaNO₃ and 40 wt.% KNO₃, for heat transfer and storage. The overall efficiency of commercially operating CSP and TES systems is currently limited, because of solar salt thermal stability, which prevents process temperatures higher than 600 °C. Even at these temperatures, corrosion of the structural materials applied in salt guiding pipework, tubes and containers is a matter of concern in long-term operation, which necessitates careful material selection. This paper outlines the superior salt corrosion behavior of a novel low-cost, Al₂O₃-forming, ferritic, Laves phase-strengthened (i.e., structural) steel in NaNO₃/KNO₃ solar salt at 600 °C. Directions for the further development of the LB2230 trial steel towards improved structural properties are derived in comparison to its predecessor Crofer^®22 H.

【 授权许可】

Unknown