Engineers at Sandia National Laboratories hope to utilize falling particle receivers to increase the efficiently of concentrating solar power plants.
Why is this important?
Concentrating solar power plants have a major set back. They are limited to attaining very high temperatures past 600°C. Falling particle receivers or direct absorption receivers use solid particles that fall through a beam of concentrated solar radiation for direct heat absorption and storage. This makes it possible to reach maximum temperatures of more than 1,000°C. When heated, the particles may be stored in an insulated tank or used to heat a secondary working fluid maintaining the power cycle (ref).
"Our goal is to develop a prototype falling particle receiver to demonstrate the potential for greater than 90 percent thermal efficiency, achieve particle temperatures of at least 700 degrees Celsius, and be cost competitive. The combination of these factors would dramatically improve the system performance and lower the cost of energy storage for large-scale electricity production." says Cliff Ho the project's principal investigator at Sandia. (ref)
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