Stirling engine based solar-thermal power plant with a thermo-chemical storage system

• Published in: Energy conversion and management 2014-10, Vol.86, p.901-915
• Main Authors: Acharya, Shantanu, Bhattacharjee, Subhadeep
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Computer simulation; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Fresnel lens capsule; Fresnel lenses; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; Magnesium; Pellets; Solar-thermal power generation; Stirling engine; Stirling engines; Sulfates; Sun; Thermal energy storage; Thermal power plants; Zeolites
• ISSN: 0196-8904; 1879-2227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2014.06.030

•The system is unaffected by climatic and seasonal variation.•Drawbacks of solar power generation are eliminated.•A constant uninterrupted output power is obtained. This paper describes a solar-thermal run Stirling engine based uninterrupted power generating system employing magnesium sulphate impregnated Zeolite pellets for thermal energy storage. In the proposed system, Stirling engine design is based on the average temperature difference of 480°C, assuming the heat sink temperature equal to the ambient temperature of that place. In presence of sun, Fresnel lenses of a specially designed hybrid capsule capture solar energy and concentrate them to provide necessary heat for the operation of the engine. In absence of the sun, required heat is provided by the thermo-chemical energy stored in Zeolite pellets. Working methodologies, modelling and simulation of the proposed system along with analyses of the obtained simulated results are presented in this paper. Possible performance of the scheme at different global positions for different period of a year has also been investigated.