High-temperature sodium-based energy collection and storage
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This project aims to combine latent-heat capture and transport, with latent-heat storage to deliver thermal energy at a constant temperature of around 800°C, suitable for driving high-efficiency power cycles or thermochemical processes. Key elements of the concept (Fig. 1) are:
- A receiver based on two-phase heat transfer through evaporation of liquid sodium, operating at around 850°C.
- A high temperature storage vessel based on a coupled two-phase heat transfer system, through condensing sodium vapour and melting a solid storage material.
- The preferred storage material is sodium chloride—or common table salt—which melts at around 800°C and is favoured for its potential to reduce storage costs by an order of magnitude.
Fig. 1. Full-scale (top) and bench-top (bottom) concepts of the high-temperature energy collection and storage system with sodium and sodium chloride.
