Experimental tests about the cooling/freezing of the molten salts in the receiver tubes of a solar power plant with parabolic trough

In 2003 ENEA realized the PCS experimental Facility at Casaccia Research Centre (Rome, Italy), in order to test in real operating conditions the components of a parabolic trough solar plant, and to evaluate the technical feasibility of using the solar molten salts mixture (60% NaNO3, 40% KNO3, melting point 220÷240°C) in such a type of plant. ENEA also had the need to assess the behaviour of the solar receiver tubes during abnormal operating situations (wrong operation, pump block, power failure, etc.), when a block of the circulation of the molten salts may occur and cause the cooling or, worse, the freezing of the salts mixture inside the pipes. Some experimental tests have been performed, aimed to examine what happens in such a cases. In fact, without quick maneuvers to restart the circulation of the molten salts or to readily empty the receiver tubes, the molten salts contained in them may cool down to temperatures near/below the solidification. In this report are shown the results of the experimental tests carried out on the receiver tubes of the PCS Facility by cooling the process fluid down to temperatures near or below its freezing point. The tests show that the solidification of the salts does not damage the components of the plant but it is manageable and reversible, provided you apply the correct procedures. © 2017 Author(s).