Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plant with Multi-PCM Reservoirs for Electrical Power Generation-An Idea

Global warming is one of the most alarming threats to the whole world. A very large quantity of energy source which reaches the earth is solar energy. But the big challenge to scientists and the engineers is to store and convert this energy in the form of thermal or electrical energy. In solar power plants, the energy of the Sun is used to produce electricity. Such a plant can run only in the daytime, but if it is possible to store solar energy then it can also be used at night time. Time-dependence is the major problem of the solar thermal power plant. Thermal energy storage (TES) technology can store energy by using Phase change material (PCM) to overcome this difficulty. One viable option is the use of PCM materials that provide an efficient way of storing such energy. Initially, PCM remains in solid-state; it absorbs heat and melts into the liquid state. At night time, it releases heat and changes back to solid-state. In this work, concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, is used considering its higher efficiency. The use of PCM as latent heat storage is very effective. Three-phase change material reservoirs of different melting points have been used in series. Thermodynamic analysis has been done to find out the optimum mass flow rate of the heat transfer fluid from the low- temperature PCM reservoir. All the processes have been considered ideal.