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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
×

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF CONCENTRATED SOLAR PHOTONS

A Report Prepared by the

Committee on Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons

Energy Engineering Board

Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1991

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
×

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.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is the president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

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.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 91-62493

International Standard Book Number 0-309-04576-2

NAP S-415

Additional copies of this report are available from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
×

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)

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
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Photochemical and Photobiological Synthesis

 

31

   

Brief description

 

31

   

Assessment of Knowledge Base

 

31

   

Recommendations

 

32

   

Conclusions

 

34

   

Notes and References

 

35

   

Solar Pumping of Lasers

 

35

   

Brief Description

 

35

   

Status of Technology

 

36

   

Assessment of Knowledge Base

 

37

   

Conclusions and Recommendations

 

38

   

Applications and Economics

 

39

   

References

 

40

   

Solar Fuels and Biomass Conversion

 

41

   

Background

 

41

   

Status of Technology

 

42

   

Competitive Technologies to Solar-Driven Fuels

 

44

   

Economic Analyses

 

44

   

An Industry's Experience in Solar Fuel Research

 

45

   

Development and Commercialization of New Technologies

 

45

   

Conclusions

 

46

   

Recommendations

 

46

   

References

 

46

   

Solar Air Conditioning

 

47

   

Brief Description

 

47

   

Recommendation

 

47

3

 

ORGANIZATION, TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, PROGRAM DIRECTION, AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES

 

48

   

Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons

 

48

   

Program and Personnel Dimensions

 

48

   

Organizational and Institutional Aspects of Research on Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons

 

50

4

 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 

51

   

Introduction

 

51

   

General Recommendations

 

51

   

Personnel

 

51

   

Long-Term Fundamental Research

 

52

   

Market Analysis

 

52

   

User Facilities

 

53

   

Specific Recommendations

 

53

   

Water and Wastewater Treatment

 

53

   

Waste Treatment

 

53

   

Materials Synthesis and Processing

 

53

   

Photochemical Synthesis

 

54

   

Solar Pumping of Lasers

 

54

   

Solar Fuels and Biomass Conversion

 

54

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
×

LIST OF FIGURES

1-1

 

Solar thermal concepts

 

6

1-2

 

Spectral irradiance curves for direct sunlight extraterrestrially and at sea level with the sun directly overhead

 

8

2-1

 

Typical hazardous waste treatment costs

 

20

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

 

22

2-3

 

Simplified potential energy diagram for a hypothetical high-temperature photochemical reaction

 

23

2-4

 

Destruction of CH3Cl versus temperature

 

24

2-5

 

Price-volume correlation of various chemical compounds

 

32

2-6

 

Solar-pumped laser system

 

37

2-7

 

Flow diagram for hydrogen production technologies

 

42

3-1

 

Flow chart for project development

 

49

D-1

 

Illustration of calculation for configurations and concentrator

 

65

E-1

 

Three state of thermal-photolytic model

 

67

F-1

 

Diagram of a hybrid water-splitting system (Mark 5 and Mark 6) for the production of hydrogen and oxygen

 

71

F-2

 

A model scheme of the Yokohama Mark VII

 

72

F-3

 

Experimental setup for the thermolytic/electrolytic decomposition of water

 

73

F-4

 

Electrolysis with 600°C receiver versus S/I2 with a 900°C receiver

 

76

F-5

 

Electrolysis versus S/I2 high-temperature receiver

 

77

LIST OF TABLES

1-1

 

Typical Characteristics of Systems Concentrating Solar Photons

 

7

2-1

 

Commercial Hazardous Waste Treatment Costs

 

19

2-2

 

First and Second Law Efficiencies, Plant size, and Typical Costs of Solar Hydrogen

 

45

F-1

 

First Law (Energy) and Second Law (Exergy) Efficiencies for the Thermolysis/Electrolysis System and Related Costs

 

74

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
×

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 development

SERI

Solar Energy Research Institute

SNL

Sandia National Laboratories


TCE

trichloroethylene


UV

ultraviolet

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. Potential Applications of Concentrated Solar Photons. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1843.
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This book reviews current work and assesses the state of the art in potential applications of concentrated solar energy in nonelectric areas, such as water and waste treatment, photochemical processes, and materials processing. It identifies and recommends research needed for further development of promising applications.

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