Via Infogrok.com
A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has designed a concentrated solar thermal system – called Concentrated Solar Power on Demand or CSPonD – that could store heat in vats of molten salts, supplying constant power.
The novel system could overcome the problem of non availability of sun during nights and cloudy days, thereby delivering solar power 24/7.
The researchers considered an approach that delivers high temperatures to heat a substance such as molten salt, which could then heat water and turn a generating turbine. The approach uses a large array of mirrors to focus sunlight on a central tower.
But such tower-based concentrated solar power (CSP) systems require expensive pumps and plumbing to transport molten salt and transfer heat, making them difficult to successfully commercialize – and they generally only work when the sun is shining.
Instead, Alexander Slocum and a team of researchers at MIT have created a system that combines heating and storage in a single tank, which would be mounted on the ground instead of in a tower…
Read More: MIT team designs thermal system to make solar power 24/7