16/04/08

阿布扎比项目使用沙子存储太阳能

沙汤
Copyright: Masdar Institute

速度阅读

  • Sand can store solar heat of up to about 1000° Celsius
  • A pilot project improves the efficiency of solar power plants and reduces costs
  • But more investment is needed to bring the technology to market.

寄给朋友

这details you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited email, and will not be sold to a 3rd party. See privacy policy.

Researchers in Abu Dhabi are testing a pilot device that can store solar活力in sand to improve the efficiency of power plants and provide energy at night.

技术, developed at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, uses gravity to drain sand from a higher basin into a lower one, heating up the sand grains with solar power during the transition. In the lower basin, the energy can be stored and withdrawn at low cost to provide extra energy if needed, for example during peak hours and at night-time.

"Two pilot models of the system have been tested in an effort to prove its efficiency and applicability on a large scale in big projects,” says Nicolas Calvet, an assistant professor at the Masdar institute’s department of mechanical engineering.

这next step is to test a more sophisticated model in preparation for its commercial marketing, Calvel says.

这些测试将涉及研究沙子的热稳定性及其特定的热吸收能力。结果表明,将热能储存至800-1000摄氏度的能力。

Unlike traditional storage media used in thermal energy storage systems, such as synthetic oils and molten salts, sand is abundant in regions with plenty of sunshine, and inexpensive to obtain.

Explaining the method used to store energy in sand, Calvet toldscidev.net那就是:“沙漏的想法启发了系统,因为它使用了两个储层,垂直沿狭窄的通道垂直连接,从而使“冷”沙粒从上层储层移动到下部“热”。”

这sand is heated by running cold sand through a solar heat collector, where it is heated before being stored in a hot reservoir. This hot sand can be used to run electricity-generating turbines.

Calvet解释说,通过将冷却器的沙子返回到上层冷砂库中,可以完成周期。

Amin Mubarak, a professor of mechanical power engineering at the engineering faculty at Cairo University in Egypt, says there have been several experiments around this technology in Europe and the United States.

However, “until now, they did not render any results that can be made available or capitalised,” he adds.

穆巴拉克告诉scidev.net。“这些实验面临着挑战,其中最重要的是经济可行性的成本组成部分,以及用于恢复能量的方法。储存的能量恢复过程需要液体,要么是一种液体,要么是注入涡轮机的液体,空气或气体。这个过程消耗了大量能量,从而增加了成本。”

Calvet承认,需要更多的研究和资金来商业化该技术。他解释说:“获得资金构成了挑战,因为我们需要将近300,000美元在销售阶段测试该系统。”

这件作品是由scidev.net’s Middle East & North Africa desk