Handbook of Solar Thermal Technologies: Concentrating Solar Power and Fuels (in 3 Volumes)

Book excerpt: The three-volume handbook showcases the state of the art in the use of concentrated sunlight to produce electricity, renewable fuel, including hydrogen and low-carbon synthesis gas, and valuable chemical commodities such as ammonia and cement. The handbook illustrates the value and diversity of applications for concentrating solar power to contribute to the expanding decarbonization of multiple cross-cutting energy sectors. Volume 1: Concentrating Solar Thermal Power, provides an overview of key technologies, principles, and challenges of concentrating solar power (CSP) as well as the use of concentrating solar thermal for process heating and district markets. The ten chapters of this volume provide the reader with the technical background on the solar resource for concentrating solar thermal, the principles and design of concentrating optics, and descriptions of state-of-the-art and emerging solar collector and receiver technologies, thermal storage and thermal-to-electric conversion and power cycles for CSP. It also contains a comprehensive summary of operations and maintenance requirements for CSP plants, and commercial CSP plants and markets around the world. Volume 2, Solar Thermochemical Processes and Products, covers the use of concentrated solar radiation as the heat source to drive endothermic chemical reactions to produce renewable fuels and valuable chemical commodities, equivalently storing solar energy in chemical bonds. The thermodynamic underpinnings of a number of approaches to produce fuel and results of demonstrations of solar thermochemical reactors for these processes at prototype scale are presented. Processes presented include thermochemical metal oxide reduction/oxidation cycles to split water and carbon dioxide solar chemical looping reformation of methane to produce synthesis gas, high temperature electrochemistry, and gasification of biomass. Research on the thermochemical storage for CSP and high temperature production of cement and ammonia to illustrate the use concentrated solar energy to produce valuable chemical products are also included. Volume 3 contains reprinted archival papers to support and supplement the material in Volumes 1 and 2. These papers provide background information on the economics and alternative use cases of CSP not covered in Volume 1, and expand on the material related to the chapter topics presented in Volume 2. Potential commercialization, such as prototype and demonstration projects, are highlighted. The papers are intended as a starting point for a more in-depth study of the topics.