3 ms·
Doesn't "hours of storage" necessarily imply a rate of discharge? If you don't take any steam off it, doesn't it last more than 10 hours? It seems like they s
by honkhonkpants 10y ago
Doesn't "hours of storage" necessarily imply a rate of discharge? If you don't take any steam off it, doesn't it last more than 10 hours? It seems like they should just state the storage in terms of extractable energy stored.
And why sodium? It does not have a spectacular specific heat. Is it just convenient due to its high boiling point?
- foota 10y agoI believe it's because of the large temperature range between solid and gaseous phases, there is a ~800 degrees Kelvin difference between the boiling and melting points, which at a specific molar heat of 29 J/mol/K is greater than the energy to heat water to boiling for a ~100 degree difference at ~56 J/mol/K
- rgbrenner 10y agoYes.. they do state the storage in terms of energy. When plants state hours, it's at full capacity. So 110MW capacity x 10 = 1.1 GWH of storage. Of course it will operate longer if you use less than full capacity. Molten salt is used because it's liquid at atmospheric pressure, is low-cost, its operating temperatures are compatible with the most efficient steam turbines, and it is non-flammable and nontoxic.