Pre-design of a Mini CSP Plant

Abstract

The REELCOOP project funded by the European Union aims at developing and demonstrating three small scale solar electricity generating units with two of them using thermal power cycles and one using PV. The system described here includes parabolic trough collectors and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), enhanced by a biogas boiler and a thermal storage. With a net aperture area of 979 m² the solar field supplies saturated steam at 170°C to the ORC which produces a nominal electrical output of 60 kW. Excess thermal energy will be stored in a novel vertical spiral plate heat exchanger with phase change material. Additionally a biogas boiler can deliver steam at the desired pressure to the ORC. Detailed planning of the hydraulic circuit is ongoing. Several components, mainly solar field and ORC, are under fabrication so that their construction on-site is expected for next winter, followed by commissioning envisaged for March 2015.

Numerical analysis of a latent heat thermal energy storage system under partial load operating conditions

“…Figure 3b shows the evolution of the energy exchanged between the HTF and PCM during the whole process. In particular, the upper red curve represents the energy stored by the PCM during the charging process, while the labelled blue curves represent the energy released by the PCM during the discharge, and directly provide the value of the residual stored energy given by Equation (13). This figure also shows a map composed of dash-dotted curves referred to constant values of melting fraction during the discharging process.…”

“…To this end, this study aims to deepen our understanding of the effect of partial load operating conditions in a TES system using a PCM for the temperature range between 150 and 220 °C, with particular reference to the influence on significant parameters, such as the energy stored and the time required to complete the storage process. In this temperature range, LHTES systems are typically applied in concentrating solar technologies associated with small size Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) [11][12][13] or industrial waste heat recovery systems [14]. Other applications are in solar cooling systems with absorption chillers [15], PAFC fuel cells [16], heat recovery in metal hydride hydrogen storage systems [17] in the food, beverage, transport equipment, textile, machinery, pulp and paper industries and drying of agricultural products [18].…”

Research of the Photovoltaic/Thermal with Biogas Unit Power Generation System

“…The domestic and foreign power grid has strict technical requirements and performance indicators for the equipment connected to the power grid. [11], Currently, the most widely used in small power generation system is the photovoltaic micro-inverter. In recent years, pv micro-inverters with power rating of 200 W to 500 W have become hot spots in markets.…”

CSP-Biogas Combined Microgrid System for Rural and Remote Areas of Bangladesh

“…For developing 60KW small scale plant, at first a steam engine has been considered. This steam engine needs to supply superheated steam that temperature is more than 300 0 c. Instead an ORC in the right power range which need only an inlet temperature of about 170 0 c. In this system 3 parallel collector rows and 12 rows in series collector have been selected [8]. Each collector with an aperture width of 2.37m and length of 5.95, that total of 428.4m for the 12 collectors with a distance about 7.2m.…”