Mauro Alexis Henriquez

• Senior Researcher at Centro Ibérico de Investigación en Almacenamiento Energético

The two-tank molten salt thermal storage system is the most common storage solution in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Solar salt (60% NaNO3 + 40% KNO3) is the most widely used energy storage material in solar thermal plants. In solar tower technology, where the molten salts must operate at temperatures ranging from 290 °C to 565 °C, several...

The fast-paced depletion of fossil fuels and environmental concerns have intensified interest in renewable energies, with dispatchable solar energy emerging as a key alternative. Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, utilizing thermal energy storage (TES) systems with molten salts at 560 °C, offers significant potential for large-scale energy...

Soiling of photovoltaic modules is a problem that causes production and economic losses and is highly dependent on local environmental conditions. Photovoltaic plants' operators need to develop operation and maintenance strategies to balance the investment in cleaning procedures with these economic losses, especially in industrial areas. This paper...

The fast-paced depletion of fossil fuels and environmental concerns have intensified interest in renewable energies, with dispatchable solar energy emerging as a key alternative. Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, utilizing thermal energy storage (TES) systems with molten salts at 560°C, offers significant potential for large-scale energy g...

Solar thermal plants typically undergo trough operational cycles spanning between 20 and 25 years, highlighting the critical need for accurate assessments of long-term component evolution. Among these components, the heat storage media (molten salt) is crucial in plant design, as it significantly influences both the thermophysical properties of the...

Solar thermal plants commonly plan their operation for a period of approximately 25 years. Therefore, it is key to accurately predict and evaluate the damage and faults occurring for that long period. Among all components, we find that choosing the heat storage medium (molten salt) and the material (steel) used in the equipment and pipping plays a...

The context of global economic instability and armed conflicts has caused fossil fuels to reach unprecedented levels. In this sense, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology has proven to be an excellent option to diversify the energy matrix dependent on fossil fuels, especially in places where there is a good quality solar resource, such as dese...

Cellular automata models have emerged as a valuable tool in corrosion management. This manuscript provides an overview of the application of cellular automata models in corrosion research, highlighting their benefits and contributions to understanding the complex nature of corrosion processes. Cellular automata models offer a computational approach...

Cellular automata (CA) models have emerged as a valuable tool in corrosion management. This manuscript provides an overview of the application of cellular automata models in corrosion research, highlighting their benefits and contributions to understanding the complex nature of corrosion processes. Cellular automata models offer a computational app...

The most used thermal energy storage material in concentrated solar power plants is a binary salt of 60%NaNO3 + 40%KNO3. However, the relatively high melting point of this mixture (222 °C) represents a significant risk of local solidification in the operation of these plants during stand-by periods. This research proposes the use of a novel mixture...

There is currently an energy crisis that has led to photovoltaic operators maximizing their resources, making soiling a problem to consider in order to ensure project profitability. Energy production costs are strongly affected by the use of scarcely efficient cleaning techniques that are not suitable for a particular type of contaminant, climate,...

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems with molten salts involve different operating conditions causing corrosion problems in the materials due to the high operating temperature. In this work, the corrosion behavior was studied by means of flow accelerated corrosion (FAC) and static corrosion tests in contact with the ternary mixture (KLiNa)NO3 at 55...

In the context of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), the metallic materials employed to build the critical components of the plant are exposed to severe conditions, Carbon and stainless steel have been used for this application. However, the technology CSP will evolve, so these materials will probably be replaced by superior performing and economicall...

The most used thermal energy storage material in concentrated solar power plants is a binary salt of 60%NaNO3+40%KNO3. However, the relatively high melting point of this mixture (221 °C) represents a significant risk of local solidification in the operation of these plants during standby periods. This research proposes the use of the mixture compos...

Los sistemas fotovoltaicos de gran capacidad de generación de energía eléctrica, integrados con sistemas de almacenamiento de baterías de ion de litio son una vía prometedora para la des-carbonización del sector energético mundial debido al contexto tecnológico y económico que se viene desarrollando actualmente en el área de las energías renovables...

The Bolivian highlands have a high global horizontal solar irradiance that results in a daily irradiation of 7.4 kWh/m 2 which makes it an attractive location for the implementation of solar energy-based systems, considering that 57.6 % of the electrical energy is generated in gas-fired power plants and that within the index of consumption of basic...

The addition of lithium nitrate is assumed to improve the performance of molten salts, extending the work temperature range. This paper presents an evaluation of the influence of different degrees of purity of LiNO3, in a ternary mixture with composition 30 wt%LiNO3 + 13 wt%NaNO3 + 57 wt% KNO3 including a Chilean mixture obtained from the Atacama D...

In recent years, lithium based salts have been studied for thermal energy storage (TES) applications due to their excellent thermophysical properties. The addition of lithium nitrate is assumed to improve the performance of molten salts, extending the work temperature range. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the thermal properties repor...

Dynamic corrosion tests have been compared in a novel ternary molten salt containing LiNO3 between a dynamic reactor (using a mechanical stirrer) and a molten salt pilot plant (1 Ton of capacity). Results obtained showed a higher increase in corrosion rate in flow conditions compared with the conventional static conditions and the stirrer reactor.

The North of Chile contains the world’s largest commercially exploited nitrate deposits, These salts are used in current solar technology for fluid thermal energy storage (TES) like sensible heat storage, with configuration in two tanks and the use of solar salt (60% NaNO3 + 40% KNO3). Lithium nitrate is one of the most promising heat transfer Flui...