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Caceres, G., Fullenkamp, K., Montane, M., Naplocha, K., & Dmitruk, A. (2017). Encapsulated Nitrates Phase Change Material Selection for Use as Thermal Storage and Heat Transfer Materials at High Temperature in Concentrated Solar Power Plants. Energies, 10(9), 21 pp.
Abstract: In the present paper, the finite element method is used to perform an exhaustive analysis of the thermal behavior of encapsulated phase change materials (EPCMs), which includes an assessment of several materials in order to identify the best combination of PCM and shell material in terms of thermal energy storage, heat transfer rate, cost of materials, limit of pressure that they can support and other criteria. It is possible to enhance the heat transfer rate without a considerable decrease of the thermal energy storage density, by increasing the thickness of the shell. In the first examination of thermomechanical coupling effects, the technical feasibility can be determined if the EPCM dimensions are designed considering the thermal expansion and the tensile strength limit of the materials. Moreover, when a proper EPCM shell material and PCM composition is used, and compared with the current storage methods of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, the use of EPCM allows one to enhance significantly the thermal storage, reaching more than 1.25 GJ/m(3) of energy density.
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Caceres, G., Montane, M., Nasirov, S., & O'Ryan, R. (2016). Review of Thermal Materials for CSP Plants and LCOE Evaluation for Performance Improvement using Chilean Strategic Minerals: Lithium Salts and Copper Foams. Sustainability, 8(2), 20 pp.
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Fullenkamp, K., Montane, M., Caceres, G., & Araya-Letelier, G. (2019). Review and selection of EPCM as TES materials for building applications. Int. J. Sustain. Energy, 38(6), 561–582.
Abstract: In order to improve the thermal efficiency of building thermal energy storage (TES) systems, the feasibility of using encapsulated phase change materials (EPCMs) as heat storage media is analysed in this work. Specifically, the finite element method is used to perform thermal behaviour analyses of several EPCMs. These analyses include technical and economic assessments in order to identify the best combination of PCM and shell material, using as main parameters: thermal energy storage, heat transfer rate, materials cost, among others. The results show that EPCMs composed by Na2SO4 center dot 6H(2)O as PCM and covered by stainless steel highlight as TES materials.
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Montane, M., Caceres, G., Villena, M., & O'Ryan, R. (2017). Techno-Economic Forecasts of Lithium Nitrates for Thermal Storage Systems. Sustainability, 9(5), 15 pp.
Abstract: Thermal energy storage systems (TES) are a key component of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants that generally use a NaNO3/KNO3 mixture also known as solar salt as a thermal storage material. Improvements in TES materials are important to lower CSP costs, increase energy efficiency and competitiveness with other technologies. A novel alternative examined in this paper is the use of salt mixtures with lithium nitrate that help to reduce the salt's melting point and improve thermal capacity. This in turn allows the volume of materials required to be reduced. Based on data for commercial plants and the expected evolution of the lithium market, the technical and economic prospects for this alternative are evaluated considering recent developments of Lithium Nitrates and the uncertain future prices of lithium. Through a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) analysis it is concluded that some of the mixtures could allow a reduction in the costs of CSP plants, improving their competitiveness.
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Montane, M., Ruiz-Valero, L., Labra, C., Faxas-Guzman, J. G., & Girard, A. (2021). Comparative energy consumption and photovoltaic economic analysis for residential buildings in Santiago de Chile and Santo Domingo of the Dominican Republic. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev., 146, 111175.
Abstract: This research compares the building energy consumption and the photovoltaic economic analysis between residential buildings in Santiago de Chile and Santo Domingo of the Dominican Republic. The methodology considered thermal simulation, sizing of a solar PV system, an economic analysis and CO2 emissions given the solar resources of both countries. A scenario where the constructive systems are switched between the countries was also analyzed. A comparison of the energy performances of the houses exposed to other climate conditions. Results show that housing in Santiago de Chile required less energy than housing in Santo Domingo due to the fact that the thermal transmittance of the enclosures of the Chilean housing has better thermal behavior, compared to the materials of the Dominican housing. Dominican houses need a higher amount of electricity for air cooling due to the high temperatures in the tropic. Meanwhile, Chilean countries requires a higher amount of gas for heating purposes. The Dominican Republic lacks thermal regulation for construction material, and applying Chilean standards in Dominican houses, helped to lower the yearly electricity demand by 19%. Dominican constructions materials improvement could have an important impact in the country's overall goal to lower CO2 emission and in-house energy savings. The economic analysis showed that the Dominican Republic renewable energies incentives contribute to the development of very attractive PV projects, meanwhile in Chile, the use of net metering instead of net billing could increase by 11 times the net present value of PV projects.
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