Liquid fuels from concentrated sunlight: An overview on development and integration of a 50 kW solar thermochemical reactor and high concentration solar field for the SUN-to-LIQUID project

Abstract

The SUN-to-LIQUID project aims to demonstrate a pre-commercial scale liquid solar fuels production facility in Mostoles, Spain. Development of the solar reactor and power delivery technology are critical to the success of the project. Ultra-modular heliostats are densely packed in front of a 15 m high solar tower and can deliver concentrated solar radiation in excess of 3,000 kW/m2. Two solar receiver vessels are install on the tower; the east installation contains a water calorimeter, and the west installation contains the solar reactor, comprised primarily of the ceria reticulated porous ceramic (RPC) structures. The ceria RPC reactor has been successfully scaled up from 4 kW and commissioning tests were performed in a high flux solar simulator. In the solar tower, a flux measurement system combined with a water calorimeter are used to calibrate the method to determine solar power entering the aperture of the solar reactor. Here we report on progress in the commissioning of the two primary sub-systems of the facility, the heliostat field and the solar reactor.