RT journal article
T1 Improving the efficiency of the concentrating solar power plants using heat transfer nanofluids with gold nanoplates: An analysis from laboratory to industrial scale
A1 Carrillo Berdugo, Iván
A1 Sampalo Guzmán, Javier
A1 Gallardo Bernal, Juan Jesús
A1 Domínguez-Núñez, Alejandro
A1 Aguilar Sánchez, María Teresa
A1 Martínez Merino, Paloma
A1 Navas Pineda, Francisco Javier
A2 Química Física
K1 Concentrating solar power
K1 Parabolic trough collectors
K1 Heat transfer fluid
K1 Nanofluids
K1 Thermal properties
AB We report about the remarkable changes in the thermophysical properties of the heat transfer fluid used in concentrating solar power plants with parabolic-trough collectors (Dowtherm A, a mixture of diphenyl oxide and biphenyl) by addition of Au nanoplates in mass fractions around 10−2 wt%. The resulting nanofluids are stable for weeks, and their enhanced physical properties make them good candidates for the application. Particularly, with 4.8·10−2 wt% of Au nanoplates, specific heat increases by 12.0 ± 1.2 % at 523 K and thermal conductivity increases by 24.9 ± 6.1 % at 373 K, with no measurable changes in density or dynamic viscosity. This set of physical properties allows to make a realistic estimation of the performance of a prototypical concentrating solar power plant using these nanofluids for solar-to-thermal energy conversion. We determine, using computational cost-free numerical models available in literature, that the performance of a concentrating solar power plant could increase up to 35.1 %, compared to the predicted 24.7 % with the conventional heat transfer fluid, with neither rheological penalties nor economically prohibitive structural changes. The findings here reported may contribute to encourage the application of heat transfer nanofluids in order to improve the efficiency of concentrating solar power plants, and to consolidate a working scheme that positively promotes the transition from laboratory scale to industrial scale. © 2023 The Authors
PB ELSEVIER
SN 0167-7322
YR 2023
FD 2023-04
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/28048
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/28048
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 11-nov-2026