Molten salts thermal

Reddy, R.G. (2010) CSP Program Review (University of Alabama) Novel Molten Salts Thermal Energy Storage for Concentrating Solar Power Generation. Presentation Department of Energy, USA, April 28, 2010. 

Szwarc R et al (1982) Discharge characteristics of lithium-boron alloy anode in molten salt thermal cells. J Electrochem Soc 129 1168-1173... 

The most direct effect of defects on tire properties of a material usually derive from altered ionic conductivity and diffusion properties. So-called superionic conductors materials which have an ionic conductivity comparable to that of molten salts. This h conductivity is due to the presence of defects, which can be introduced thermally or the presence of impurities. Diffusion affects important processes such as corrosion z catalysis. The specific heat capacity is also affected near the melting temperature the h capacity of a defective material is higher than for the equivalent ideal crystal. This refle the fact that the creation of defects is enthalpically unfavourable but is more than comp sated for by the increase in entropy, so leading to an overall decrease in the free energy... 

Each type of metallic coating process has some sort of hazard, whether it is thermal energy, the reactivity of molten salt or metal baths, particulates in the air from spray processes, poisonous gases from pack cementation and diffusion, or electrical hazards associated with arc spray or ion implantation. 

Maintenance of isothermal conditions requires special care. Temperature differences should be minimised and heat-transfer coefficients and surface areas maximized. Electric heaters, steam jackets, or molten salt baths are often used for such purposes. Separate heating or cooling circuits and controls are used with inlet and oudet lines to minimize end effects. Pressure or thermal transients can result in longer Hved transients in the individual catalyst pellets, because concentration and temperature gradients within catalyst pores adjust slowly. 

Thermal stability increases with increasing atomic weight, as expected. Nitrates have been widely used as molten salt baths and heat transfer media, e.g. the 1 1 mixture LiNOs. KNOs melts at 125 C and the ternary mixture of 40% NaN02, 7% NaNOs and 53% KNO3 can be used from its mp 142 up to about 600 C. 

As with the salts of other oxoacids, the thermal stability of nitrates varies markedly with the basicity of the metal, and the products of decomposition are equally varied/ Thus the nitrates of Group 1 and 2 metals find use as molten salt baths because of their thermal stability and low mp (especially as mixtures). Representative values of mp and the temperature (I d) at which the decomposition pressure of O2 reaches 1 atm are ... 

In 1963, Major (Dr.) Lowell A. King (Figure 1.1) at the U.S. Air Force Academy initiated a research project aimed at finding a replacement for the LiCl/KCl molten salt electrolyte used in thermal batteries. 

Early in their work on molten salt electrolytes for thermal batteries, the Air Force Academy researchers surveyed the aluminium electroplating literature for electrolyte baths that might be suitable for a battery with an aluminium metal anode and chlorine cathode. They found a 1948 patent describing ionically conductive mixtures of AICI3 and 1-ethylpyridinium halides, mainly bromides [6]. Subsequently, the salt 1-butylpyridinium chloride/AlCl3 (another complicated pseudo-binary)... 

Data on high-temperature melts are still limited. Conventional methods are difficult to apply because of the high values of thermal conductivity. Other difficulties in measuring molten salts are their corrosiveness, high electrical conductivities, and the necessity of careful preparation. Special care should be taken to exclude convection errors, which are usually the most serious source of errors, even at room temperature. 

Kato et al. have used electric stepwise heating of a thin metal layer to measure thermal diffusivity of molten salts. The ratio of the temperatures with time and 2/i at distance x below tlie heating plate was evaluated as a function of the Fourier number ... 

In the parallel-plate method, the heat flux downward is measured hy a fluxmeter under which the thermal bond material and the molten salt of interest are located. Because the thermal transfer is only conductive if the thermal contacts are perfect, the balance of heat flow through the... 

Gustafsson et al. measured the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of molten NaNOs KNO3. The approximate dimension of the foil used for NaNO, was platinum measuring 0.010 X 40 X 86 mm The foil was heated by a constant electric current and the measurements were completed within 10 s. Errors due to radiation were considered to be negligible. The accuracy was claimed to be +2.6% for thermal conductivity and 3% for thermal diffusivity, but the effect of current leak from the metallic foil to the molten salts was neglected. 

Sindzinger and Gillan have calculated the thermal conductivity for NaCl and KCl melts as well as for sohds on the basis of MD simulations in Ml thermal equilibrium using the Green-Kubo relations (Table 17). In a single molten salt system, the local fluxes jz and of charge and energy... 

In the case of molten salts, the functional electrolytes are generally oxides or halides. As examples of the use of oxides, mention may be made of the electrowinning processes for aluminum, tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten, and some of the rare earth metals. The appropriate oxides, dissolved in halide melts, act as the sources of the respective metals intended to be deposited cathodically. Halides are used as functional electrolytes for almost all other metals. In principle, all halides can be used, but in practice only fluorides and chlorides are used. Bromides and iodides are thermally unstable and are relatively expensive. Fluorides are ideally suited because of their stability and low volatility, their drawbacks pertain to the difficulty in obtaining them in forms free from oxygenated ions, and to their poor solubility in water. It is a truism that aqueous solubility makes the post-electrolysis separation of the electrodeposit from the electrolyte easy because the electrolyte can be leached away. The drawback associated with fluorides due to their poor solubility can, to a large extent, be overcome by using double fluorides instead of simple fluorides. Chlorides are widely used in electrodeposition because they are readily available in a pure form and... 

Conventional thermal treatment methods, such as rotary kiln, rotary hearth furnace, or fluidized-bed furnace, are used for waste pyrolysis. Molten salt process may also be used for waste pyrolysis. 

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