Ultra-high temperature solar absorbers for concentrating solar power systems

CSP

Principal investigator: Diletta Sciti

Involved personnel: Laura Silvestroni, Elena Landi, Luca Zoli

Solar thermal technology is a safe sustainable and cost-effective energy supply. Presently, the maximum operating temperature of a solar power plant is <800 K due to degradation of its components. However, efficiency of solar thermal power plants increases with increasing working temperatures. Hence, the problem to be solved is the improvement of the receiver in terms of radiative properties and chemical stability at high temperature.

Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics (e.g. borides and carbides of early transition metals) are considered a class of promising materials for application in the aerospace as thermal protection materials. A novel potential application is in the field of solar thermal power, as solar absorbers. UHTCs possess favorable properties, like very high melting points and good thermo-mechanical properties at high temperatures and, most of all, they are intrinsically selective. This combination of properties can be advantageously exploited to increase the operating temperature of thermodynamic solar plants in concentrating solar power systems.

CNR-ISTEC develops dense and porous UHTCs ceramic, textured via chemical etching (University of Ferrara) and via laser (collaboration with CNR-ISM) and studies the optical properties in collaboration with CNR-INO.

Main collaboration

• CNR-INO
• CNR-ISM
• CNRS-PROMES
• Università di Ferrara

Projects

• SUPERSOLAR
• STAGE-STE

Publications & Patents

• E. Sani, L. Mercatelli, M. Meucci, L. Zoli, D. Sciti, Lanthanum hexaboride for solar energy applications; Sci. Rep. 7, 40730 (2017)
• Sciti D., Silvestroni L., Mercatelli L., Sans J.-L., Sani E., Suitability of ultra-refractory diboride ceramics as absorbers for solar energy applications, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 109 (2013), 8-13
• Mercatelli L., Sani E., Jafrancesco D., Sansoni P., Fontani D., Meucci M., Coraggia S., Marconi L., Sans J-L., Beche E., Silvestroni L. and Sciti D., Ultra-Refractory Diboride Ceramics For Solar Plant Receivers, Proceedings of SolarPACES 2013, sept 2013, Las Vegas, USA
• Sani E., Mercatelli L., Sans J-L., Silvestroni L., Sciti D., Porous and dense hafnium and zirconium ultra-high temperature ceramics for solar receivers, Optical Materials, 36 (2) (2013) , 163-168
• Sciti D., Silvestroni L., Sans J-L., Mercatelli L., Meucci M., Sani E., Tantalum diboride-based ceramics for bulk solar absorbers, Solar Energy Materials And Solar Cells, 130 (2014), 208-21
• Sani E., Meucci M., Mercatelli L., Jafrancesco D., Sans J-L., Silvestroni L., Sciti D., Optical properties of boride ultrahigh-temperature ceramics for solar thermal absorbers, Journal of Photonics For Energy, 4 (2014), 045599-1-8
• Sani E., Mercatelli L., Sans J-L., Sciti D., Optical properties of black and white ZrO2 for solar receiver applications, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 140 (2015), 477-482
• Sani E., Mercatelli L., Meucci M., Balbo A., Silvestroni L., Sciti D., Compositional dependence of optical properties of zirconium, hafnium and tantalum carbides for solar absorber applications, Solar Energy, 131 (2016), 199-207
• Sani E., Mercatelli L., Meucci M., Silvestroni L., Balbo A., Sciti D., Process and composition dependence of optical properties of zirconium, hafnium and tantalum borides for solar receiver applications, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 155 (2016), 368-377
• Musa C., Licheri R., Orrù R., Cao G., Sciti D., Silvestroni L., Zoli L., Balbo A., Mercatelli L., Meucci M., Sani E., Processing, mechanical and optical properties of additive-free ZrC ceramics prepared by spark plasma sintering, Materials, 9 (6) (2016), 489
• D.M. Trucchi, A. Bellucci, M. Girolami, P. Calvani, E. Cappelli, S. Orlando, R. Polini, L. Silvestroni, D. Sciti, A. Kribus, “Solar Thermionic-Thermoelectric Generator (ST2G): concept, material engineering, and prototype demonstration”, Advanced Energy Materials (2018) 1802310.
• R. Licheri, C. Musa, A.M. Locci, S. Montinaro, R. Orrù1, G. Cao, L. Silvestroni, D. Sciti, N. Azzali, L. Mercatelli, E. Sani, “Ultra-High temperature Porous Graded Ceramics for Solar Energy Applications”, Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 39 [1] 72-78 (2019).
• L. Silvestroni, D. Sciti, A. Balbo, R. Licheri, C. Musa, R. Orrù, G. Cao, L. Mercatelli, N. Azzali, E. Sani, “An overview of ultra-refractory ceramic absorbers for thermodynamic solar energy generation at high temperature”, Renewable Energy 133 (2019) 1257-1267.
• US2015207457 (A1)-THERMIONIC CONVERTER DEVICE, Inventors: Trucchi D. M.; Cappelli E.; Orlando S.; Sciti D.