Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SC4-P082
STUDY OF THE SPECIFIC HEAT OF SOLAR SALTS WITH THE
PRESENCE OF SILICA NANOPARTICLES
Erika Muñoz Gracia 1 , Jenaro L. Varela Caselis 2 , Efraín Rubio Rosas 2
1 Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Mexico.
2
Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Centro Universitario de Vinculación y
Transferencia de Tecnología, Mexico.
Development in energy production by renewable resources is sought by
researchers around the world to slow down effects of climate change. Essential
component in thermal power plants by concentrated solar energy to reduce
discordance of renewable sources and energy demand are thermal storage
systems of molten salt, a proposed method to enhance the thermal capacity of
system is doping nanoparticles in small quantities. The system frequently used
as storage medium for high working temperature, density and low cost is a
binary mixture of sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate (60:40 %wt) known as
solar salt. The observed effect by presence of colloidal silica nanoparticles on
the specific heat capacity of solar salt in solid phase and liquid phase at 200 and
300°C respectively by differential scanning calorimetry at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%
weight concentration. The maximum increase of specific heat occurred in solid
phase around 46% and liquid phase 36%, for both cases with concentration of
nanoparticles 1.5% wt compared with that of the neat nitrate salt eutectic. The
evaluation carried out by EDS mapping showed a homogeneous dispersion of
silicon element on surface of salt, the images obtained by SEM of solid phase in
micrometric scale do not identify formation of clusters, the high surface area of
nanoparticles is related to effect on specific heat enhancement in this salt.
Acknowledgment:
This wok was supported by CUV of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de
Puebla.
Keywords: specific heat, nanoparticles, solar salt
Presenting authors email: quika008@hotmail.com