The molten salt is distributed using heat exchanger pipes and stored in tanks by night. Molten salt is kept at atmospheric pressure.
Fremont, CA: In the present era, where renewable energy is pushing past fossil fuels, it is impending to find a source to store the excess power being siphoned off of solar or wind power to be used on nocturnal days.
Making a better energy storage system is vital, and this is where scientists at MIT came up with the idea of one such unit, "sun in a box"—thinking about a hot molten silicon sun powering around 100,000 homes sounds like a farfetched dream that will soon come to fruition.
The new system known as thermal energy grid storage multi-junction photovoltaic, or TEGS-MPV, is based on molten salt batteries, which are inert and non-toxic. Molten salt batteries represent the most efficient, flexible, and cost-effective form of the large-scale energy storage system. Moreover, this type of storage allows stable and secure distribution of power without requiring any backup fossil fuel like natural gas.
There are numerous critical aspects of molten salt batteries. The molten salt is distributed using heat exchanger pipes and stored in tanks by night. Molten salt is kept at atmospheric pressure.
Molten salt is kept at 556o C until a need for electricity arises, with or without the sun's existence. Merely 1o F of heat is lost per day. The salts utilized here can be used as fertilizers after the decommissioning of the plant.
This specific source of renewable energy has many benefits:
1. It can produce electricity when required, like nuclear and fossil fuel power plants, without harmful leftovers and fuel costs.
2. The plant can function 24/7.
3. Molten salt batteries are the minimal capital investment in an energy storage system.
4. Storage enables the plant to produce over twice as much net annual output as other solar technology.
5. The plant output ensures a more secure and stable transmission system.
The salt substitute was used silicon, which is abundant, with almost 25.6% of the Earth's crust comprising it. In addition, silicon can withstand temperatures over 4000o F. Fearing the molten silicon storage in graphite tanks; it could react to form something corrosive. So instead, silicon carbide formed a thin protective layer rather than destroy the tank.
The sun in a box is like a huge rechargeable battery that stores excess electricity as heat. Then, in the event of necessity, the photovoltaic inside the silo captures the glowing silicon's light and converts it back into power.
