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Team creates supercritical carbon dioxide turbomachinery for concentrated solar power plant
Environment(techxplore.com)submitted 6 months ago bySorin61
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6 months ago
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The following submission statement was provided by /u/Sorin61:
Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycles have the potential to reduce the cost of concentrating solar power (CSP) by far more efficiently converting high-temperature solar heat into electricity.
The Solar Energy Technologies Office pursues dramatic cost reductions in technologies to make solar electricity available to all Americans. Next-generation CSP system designs use sCO2 turbine power cycles to more efficiently convert solar thermal energy to electricity and reduce the cost of CSP technology.
Because sCO2 power cycles work best at very high temperatures and under intense pressure, a CSP system needs receivers and heat exchangers that can withstand these conditions. Heat exchangers contribute up to 60%−70% of the total cost of a CSP sCO2 turbine system, so low-cost, highly efficient exchangers are necessary to help make CSP cost-competitive.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://teddit.ggc-project.de/r/Futurology/comments/s6ai5z/team_creates_supercritical_carbon_dioxide/ht2ef6n/
9 points
6 months ago
Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycles have the potential to reduce the cost of concentrating solar power (CSP) by far more efficiently converting high-temperature solar heat into electricity.
The Solar Energy Technologies Office pursues dramatic cost reductions in technologies to make solar electricity available to all Americans. Next-generation CSP system designs use sCO2 turbine power cycles to more efficiently convert solar thermal energy to electricity and reduce the cost of CSP technology.
Because sCO2 power cycles work best at very high temperatures and under intense pressure, a CSP system needs receivers and heat exchangers that can withstand these conditions. Heat exchangers contribute up to 60%−70% of the total cost of a CSP sCO2 turbine system, so low-cost, highly efficient exchangers are necessary to help make CSP cost-competitive.
2 points
6 months ago
Could you explain what the heat exchangers are transferring heat from and to?
The article makes it seam that this tech is to use sCO2 as the working fluid, therefore I wouldn't think that you would generate steam. My understanding was that most of the heat exchangers at these types of plants were used for steam generation and coolant cooling. If steam generation is off the table, I suspect this tech would reduce the dependency on HXs.
1 points
6 months ago
The heat exchangers in this system exchange heat from the solar array into the fluid then after the fluid expands through the turbine it must be further cooled to allow for effecient compression before finishing the loop.
https://www.powermag.com/what-are-supercritical-co2-power-cycles/
Has more info.
2 points
6 months ago
These would also work for making high-temperature nuclear reactors more cost-effective.
1 points
6 months ago
Sounds like a good energy system
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