Experimental Measurements for Melting Point, Heat of Fusion and Heat Capacity of Several Eutectic Molten Salts by NaCl-KCl-MgCl2

Abstract

The demand for energy around the world is ever increasing with the global warming increasing with the demand a way to produce clean energy is needed. Concentrated solar power (CSP) are one of the ways to produce clean solar energy which use the sun energy to heat up a heat transfer fluid (HTF) to produce that energy. Since CSP use the sun they tend to work at high temperatures which need high temperature HTF and thermal storage to achieve a better efficiency. To achieve that efficiency the HTF should have a low melting temperature and be stable at high temperatures. The thermal storage media needs to have a high heat capacity to store as much energy per unit mass or volume. The purpose of this research is to study the basic thermophysical properties of several eutectic salts for the use of HTF and thermal storage. The salts will be studied by using a Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) simultaneously. The properties that will be studied are the specific heat, melting point, and heat of fusion of the each of the salts. Details of the measurements and obtained experience of operating the equipment are provided in the work