2 ms·
Molten salt is very corrosive, and this only heats to 600C, and sodium chloride doesn't melt until 800C. This is a cheaper, lower maintenance option.
by zdragnar 4y ago
Molten salt is very corrosive, and this only heats to 600C, and sodium chloride doesn't melt until 800C.
This is a cheaper, lower maintenance option.
- scythe 4y agoThe molten salt used for energy storage is a sodium nitrate – potassium nitrate eutectic with an operating temperature range of 200-550 C and a much lower corrosion behavior than chloride salts.
- zdragnar 4y agoah, fair enough. The design in the photo is much more vertical than horizontal- maybe they're designing for space constraints? I would imagine 500*C molten salt would be significantly more efficient than sand, so the only charitable thing I can come up with is they're simply putting the cheapest materials they can (discard sand, free electricity) to good use.