Zero-Emissions Solar Power Plant

Abstract

With energy demand continuously increasing in the United States, renewable energy development is critical to combatting the effects of global climate change. The objective of the project was to create a design for a zero-emissions solar plant. The project group designed a plant to provide electricity to all of residential Chandler, a city with about 100,000 homes. An estimated 543,880 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent is produced to power residential Chandler. In contrast, the proposed solar plant will produce zero emissions. Unfortunately, the proposed process is not currently economically feasible. The proposed process is a concentrating solar power (CSP) tower plant. A central receiver on top of a 175 meter tower absorbs heat reflected off of a field of reflective heliostats. A chloride molten salt mixture flows to the receiver where it is heated to approximately 1000°C. The heated molten salt flows back into a tank where it can be stored for later use or pumped directly to a series of heat exchangers. The working fluid, supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO2), gains heat from the heat exchanger and powers highly efficient turbines. Waste heat is recovered from the turbines using the closed-loop Brayton Cycle and the s- CO2 is recompressed.