Solar thermal power plants. Solar Ponds. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering
Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering / Alternative energy sources
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Neither focusing mirrors nor solar cells can generate power at night. For this purpose, solar energy accumulated during the day must be stored in heat storage tanks. This process occurs naturally in the so-called solar ponds.
Solar ponds have a high salt concentration in the bottom water layers, a non-convective middle layer of water in which the salt concentration increases with depth, and a convective layer with a low salt concentration on the surface. Sunlight falls on the surface of the pond, and heat is retained in the lower layers of the water due to the high concentration of salt. High salinity water, heated by solar energy absorbed by the bottom of the pond, cannot rise due to its high density. It remains at the bottom of the pond, gradually heating up until it almost boils (while the upper layers of water remain relatively cold).
The hot bottom "brine" is used day or night as a heat source, thanks to which a special organic coolant turbine can generate electricity. The middle layer of the solar pond acts as thermal insulation, preventing convection and heat loss from the bottom to the surface. The temperature difference between the bottom and the surface of the pond water is sufficient to drive the generator. The coolant, passed through the pipes through the lower layer of water, is fed further into the closed Rankin system, in which a turbine rotates to produce electricity.
1 - high salt concentration, 3 - middle layer, 3 - low salt concentration
This type of power plant has been tested in Beit Ha'Arava (Israel), near the Dead Sea. Israel is the world leader in the use of salt solar ponds. Ormat Systems Inc. installed several such systems in the Dead Sea.
The largest of them has a capacity of 5 MW. A 20 hectare pond converts sunlight into electricity at an efficiency of about 1%. The lower layers of water in a pond have a very high density. Although the solar pond operated successfully for several years, it had to be closed in 1989 for economic reasons. The largest solar pond in the US is 0,3 hectares in El Paso, Texas. It has operated non-stop since its opening in 1986. It powers a 70-kilowatt Rankine turbogenerator and a 20-liter-per-day desalination plant, as well as supplying process heat to a nearby food plant.
The water temperature in the pond can reach and be maintained above 90°C in the heat storage zone. During peak power, this plant is capable of producing more than 100 kWh of electricity per hour, and the volume of desalinated drinking water is more than 350000 liters per day. Over five years of operation, the plant has generated over 50000 kWh of electricity.
An artificial salt solar pond was built in Miamisburg (Ohio, USA). It is used to heat the municipal swimming pool and holiday home.
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