NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
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This is a report of work supported by Contract No. XX-9-19012-1 from the Solar Energy Research Institute Division of the Midwest Research Institute through the U.S. Department of Energy to the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council.
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COMMITTEE ON POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF CONCENTRATED SOLAR PHOTONS
ALLEN J. BARD Chairman,
Department of Chemistry, University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas
ADAM HELLER Vice-Chairman,
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas
J. LAMBERT BATES,
Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, Washington
ELSA M. GARMIRE,
Center for Laser Studies, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
ARTHUR L. GOLDSTEIN,
Ionics, Incorporated, Watertown, Massachusetts
JACK ST. CLAIR KILBY, Consultant,
Dallas, Texas
DAVID F. OLLIS,
Department of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
ADEL F. SAROFIM,
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
NICK SERPONE,
Department of Chemistry, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
MICHAEL A. TENHOVER,
B.P. Research, Warrensville Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
VERONICA VAIDA,
Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
National Research Council Staff
KAMAL J. ARAJ, Study Director,
Energy Engineering Board
JAN C. KRONENBURG, Study Assistant (to February 1991)
ENERGY ENGINEERING BOARD
JOHN A. TILLINGHAST Chairman,
Tiltec, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
DONALD B. ANTHONY,
Bechtel Corporation, Houston, Texas
RICHARD E. BALZHISER,
Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California
BARBARA R. BARKOVICH,
Barkovich and Yap, Consultants, San Rafael, California
JOHN A. CASAZZA,
CSA Energy Consultants, Arlington, Virginia
RALPH C. CAVANAGH,
Natural Resources Defense Council, San Francisco, California
DAVID E. COLE,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
H. M. (HUB) HUBBARD,
Midwest Research Institute, Golden, Colorado
ARTHUR E. HUMPHREY,
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (to February 1991)
CHARLES IMBRECHT,
California Energy Commission, Sacramento, California
CHARLES D. KOLSTAD,
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
HENRY R. LINDEN,
Gas Research Institute, Chicago, Illinois
JAMES J. MARKOWSKY,
American Electric Power Service Corporation, Columbus, Ohio (to February, 1991)
SEYMOUR L. MEISEL,
Mobile R&D Corporation (retired), Princeton, New Jersey
DAVID L. MORRISON,
The MITRE Corporation, McLean, Virginia
MARC H. ROSS,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
MAXINE L. SAVITZ,
Garrett Ceramic Component Division, Torrance, California
HAROLD H. SCHOBERT,
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
GLEN A. SCHURMAN,
Chevron Corporation (retired), San Francisco, California
JON M. VEIGEL,
Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
BERTRAM WOLFE,
GE Nuclear Energy, San Jose, California
Staff
ARCHIE L. WOOD, Executive Director,
Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems and
Director,
Energy Engineering Board (to January 1991)
MAHADEVAN (DEV) MANI, Director,
Energy Engineering Board
KAMAL J. ARAJ, Senior Program Officer
ROBERT COHEN, Senior Program Officer (retired)
GEORGE LALOS, Senior Program Officer
JAMES J. ZUCCHETTO, Senior Program Officer
JUDITH A. AMRI, Administrative Coordinator
THERESA M. FISHER, Administrative Secretary
JAN C. KRONENBURG, Administrative Secretary (to February 1991)
PHILOMINA MAMMEN, Administrative Secretary
NANCY WHITNEY, Administrative Secretary
Preface
The Committee on Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons was appointed by the National Research Council on May 7, 1990, to consider potential applications of concentrated solar energy in nonelectric areas (such as waste treatment, photochemical processes and materials processing); to review current work and assess the state of the art in these fields; and to recommend research needed for further development. The committee considered both technologies leading to applications (i.e., products or processes of commercial value) and research that might result in relevant discoveries. The committee recognizes that applications of solar energy may require many years to develop and that such applications will become more important as fossil fuels are depleted and environmental concerns become acute.
To carry out its task, the committee held several meetings and convened a workshop. At its first meeting, on June 7–8, 1990, the committee was briefed by members of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Solar Energy Research Institute on past and current activities of DOE's Solar Thermal Technology Program and possible applications of concentrated sunlight. At the workshop, held November 7–9, 1990, in Golden, Colorado, a number of experts in areas of possible applications assessed the current state of the field and discussed technologies for which solar energy might be utilized. Speakers also discussed areas of fundamental research (e.g., in photo-chemistry and lasers). The proceedings of the workshop, which are being published separately, contain much of the background material that is used in the present report. Following the workshop, the committee held a meeting to discuss the proceedings and the outline of this report. In addition, committee members consulted with other experts in relevant fields. To review international research and development activities, the chairman attended a symposium on solar high temperature technologies in Davos, Switzerland, and another committee member and the study director visited several European research establishments. The committee drafted the report, with conclusions and recommendations, at its final meeting on February 7–9, 1991.
The committee is grateful to the speakers and other participants at the workshop for their contributions and advice. We also acknowledge the assistance of Jan Kronenburg and Susanna Clarendon for their tireless efforts in handling the administrative matters of conducting the study and laboring through the many drafts of this report.
Allen J. Bard, Chairman
Committee on Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons
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APPENDIXES |
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LIST OF FIGURES
1-1 |
Solar thermal concepts |
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1-2 |
Spectral irradiance curves for direct sunlight extraterrestrially and at sea level with the sun directly overhead |
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2-1 |
Typical hazardous waste treatment costs |
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2-2 |
Effects of temperature and exposure to 95 suns on the decomposition 3,3',4,4' tetrachlorobiphenyl (3000 ppm) in air and on its fractional conversion to tetrachlorodibenzofuran |
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2-3 |
Simplified potential energy diagram for a hypothetical high-temperature photochemical reaction |
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2-4 |
Destruction of CH3Cl versus temperature |
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2-5 |
Price-volume correlation of various chemical compounds |
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2-6 |
Solar-pumped laser system |
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2-7 |
Flow diagram for hydrogen production technologies |
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3-1 |
Flow chart for project development |
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D-1 |
Illustration of calculation for configurations and concentrator |
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E-1 |
Three state of thermal-photolytic model |
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F-1 |
Diagram of a hybrid water-splitting system (Mark 5 and Mark 6) for the production of hydrogen and oxygen |
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F-2 |
A model scheme of the Yokohama Mark VII |
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F-3 |
Experimental setup for the thermolytic/electrolytic decomposition of water |
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F-4 |
Electrolysis with 600°C receiver versus S/I2 with a 900°C receiver |
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F-5 |
Electrolysis versus S/I2 high-temperature receiver |
LIST OF TABLES
1-1 |
Typical Characteristics of Systems Concentrating Solar Photons |
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2-1 |
Commercial Hazardous Waste Treatment Costs |
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2-2 |
First and Second Law Efficiencies, Plant size, and Typical Costs of Solar Hydrogen |
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F-1 |
First Law (Energy) and Second Law (Exergy) Efficiencies for the Thermolysis/Electrolysis System and Related Costs |
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AM1
air mass 1
AOP
advanced oxidation process
CAESAR
CAtalytically Enhanced Solar Absorption Receiver
DCAR
direct catalytic absorption reactor
DOE
Department of Energy
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
eV
electron volt
gpd
gallon per day
gpm
gallon per minute
GRI
Gas Research Institute
GJ
gigajoule
HTGR
high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor
IEA
International Energy Agency
kW
kilowatt
kWt
kilowatt (thermal)
LANL
Los Alamos National Laboratory
LLNL
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
MBMS
molecular beam mass spectrometer
MW
megawatt
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NIST
National Institute of Standards and Technology
NRC
National Research Council
nm
nanometer (= 10-9 m)
ph
photon
ppm
parts per million
ptg
per thousand gallons
PV
photovoltaic
R&D
research and developmentSERI
Solar Energy Research Institute
SNL
Sandia National Laboratories
TCE
trichloroethylene
UV
ultraviolet