Abstract
Enhancing renewable energy systems is a prerequisite to securing a successful energy transition. In this study, we document how sand, a low-cost, naturally occurring, widely available material, can play multiple roles in improving the performance of solar thermal technologies. Sand can store heat harnessed from solar energy and subsequently supply it, on-demand, to be used for space and water heating, drying, distillation, gasification, cooking, and electricity generation. While some types of sand can be used as an insulating material for solar ponds and pits/tanks thermal energy storage, others can be used as a heat transfer material for particle-to-fluid heat exchangers and borehole thermal energy storage. Sand can also be used as an evaporative medium in evaporative cooling systems. In addition to providing an overview of the current state of research, the study also highlights the technologies that have been commercialized or are in the process of being commercialized.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 112533 |
| Journal | Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells |
| Volume | 261 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Oct 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
- Concentrating solar power
- Sand
- Solar desalination
- Solar heating
- Solar thermal technologies
- Thermal energy storage
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
