An Experimental Demonstration of the Effective Application of Thermal Energy Storage in a Particle-Based CSP System

Tests were performed at the particle-based CSP test facility at King Saud University to demonstrate a viable solution to overcome the limitations of using molten salt as a working medium in power plants. The KSU facility is composed of a heliostat field, particle heating receiver (PHR) at the top of a tower, thermal energy storage (TES) bin, a particle-to-working fluid heat exchanger (PWFHX), power cycle (microturbine), and a particle lift. During pre-commissioning, a substantial portion of the collected solar energy was lost during particle flow through the TES bin. The entrained air is shown to be the primary cause of such heat loss. The results show that the particle temperature at the PHR outlet can reach 720 degrees C after mitigating the entrained air issue. Additionally, during on-sun testing, a higher temperature of the air exiting the PWFHX than that of the air entering is observed, which indicates the effective solar contribution. Half-hour plant operation through stored energy was demonstrated after heliostat defocusing. Lastly, a sealable TES bin configuration for 1.3 MWe pre-commercial demonstration unit to be built in Saudi Arabia by Saudi Electric Company (SEC) is presented. This design modification has addressed the heat loss, pressure build-up, and contamination issues during TES charging.