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Published in:
2022 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
Porous Materials for Solar Energy Harvesting, Transformation, and Storage
Authors : Christos Agrafiotis, Thomas Fend, Martin Roeb
Published in: Solar Thermal Energy
Publisher: Springer US
Excerpt
Concentrated solar power systems:
special mirror assemblies (parabolic troughs, heliostats, or parabolic dishes) that track the sun and concentrate its radiation, converting solar energy to medium- to high-temperature heat and through that to electricity.
Porous materials
materials containing voids (pores), usually comprised of a solid skeletal portion and of a void structure accessible to flow of a fluid (liquid or gas) through it.
Solar chemistry
implementation of chemical reactions by harnessing solar energy via absorbing sunlight.
Structured solar reactors
chemical reactors that utilize solar energy for the implementation of chemical reactions and where the solid catalytic or reactant particles are “arranged” free of randomness in space at the reactor level, in contrast to reactors wherein such particles are distributed randomly; examples of the first category include honeycomb, foam and membrane reactors, and of the second packed and fluidized beds.
Tailored porous structure
A porous functional material with a “designed” pore geometry adapted to the application
Thermochemical cycles
a series of consecutive chemical reactions (≥2) out of which at least one requires supply of heat, and their “net” sum is the dissociation of a chemical compound to products, with the maximum-temperature (endothermic) step taking place at a temperature level lower than that required for the single-step thermal-only dissociation of the reactant to the same products and any other chemical intermediates are recycled.
Thermochemical energy storage
the exploitation of the heat effects of reversible chemical reactions for the “storage” of heat: when heat is available is used to excite an endothermic chemical reaction and in this way can be “stored” in the creation of new chemical bonds; if this reaction is completely reversible, the thermal energy can be recovered completely by the reverse reaction taking place when the originally used heat is not available (e.g., concerning solar energy on- and off-sun, respectively).
Volumetric receivers
directly irradiated solar receivers in which solar irradiation and heat extraction take place on the same surface simultaneously: the concentrated solar radiation penetrates and is absorbed within their entire volume, transporting its energy to a working fluid flowing within them; usually porous material structures like honeycombs, foams, wire/fiber meshes, etc.
