ES-3.5 TES technology consisting Two-tank molten salt configuration.

It provides:

• Many years of experience with this technology in the general process industry

• Good experience in thermal solar plants in the USA and Spain

• The technology is environmentally benign

 

This system consists of a quantity of molten salt pumped between hot and cold reservoirs, either to be heated up by the HTF (charging mode) and stored, or, when hot, used to heat the HTF (discharging mode). The salt used in the TES system is a non-eutectic mixture of 60% Sodium Nitrate (NaNO3) and 40% Potassium Nitrate (KNO3).

 

When the solar field is collecting thermal energy in excess of that required to drive the steam turbine at the desired output capacity, a stream of HTF is diverted to the TES heat exchangers. The thermal energy of the HTF is transferred to molten salt, which is pumped from a cold storage tank, through the TES heat exchangers, to a hot storage tank.

 

When the solar field cannot supply sufficient thermal output to the power block, the salt flow is reversed, and hot molten salt is pumped from the hot storage tank, through the TES heat exchangers, and returned to the cold storage tank. The thermal energy of the hot salt is transferred back to the HTF, which is then pumped to the power block heat exchangers to generate steam.