OA18473A - Refurbishing nonoconductive zone in a solar pond - Google Patents

Abstract

A Salinity Gradient Solar Pond (SGSP) has saturated salt water in the bottom zone of the pond and nearly fresh water at the top zone, with a gradient zone between the top and bottom. Due to this salinity stratification the upward diffusion of salt is a natural consequence in SGSP's. Controlling the salinity gradient in SGSP systems is vital to their reliable operation. The method for controlling the salinity gradient disclosed in this application, coined the "Pond Rolling Method" by the authors, rapidly drains the pond's non-gradient zones, refurbishes the gradient, and restores the non-gradient zones of the SGSP system, in a manner that minimizes land use, water and heat loss. The salt in the pond is allowed to diffuse upward over time and, on condition as needed to restore the gradient, the Pond Rolling Method is used to completely rebuild the gradient and the SGSP zones.

Description

This application takes priority from and claims the benefit of United States Utility Patent Application Serial No. 14/736,451 filed on June 11, 2015, which in turn takes priority from and claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application 62/010,576 filed on June 11, 2014, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The présent system and method relates generally to the practice of maintaining the salinity gradient in a Salinity 15 Gradient Solar Pond (SGSP), and more particularly to a system and method to refurbish the non-convective zone in a SGSP.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

An SGSP is a shallow, salt-gradient pond that enables the 20 ' collection and storage of solar thermal energy (see FIG. 1).

In the SGSP, solar energy is absorbed by the pond's bottom which in turn heats the adjacent salt-saturated fluid (the Lower Convective Zone, or LCZ, in Figure 1). Since the LCZ is heavier than the layers above it due to its higher salinity, 25 the heated fluid cannot rise in the pond and cool, like a normal pond, but rather remains on the bottom, getting hotter as it stores more solar thermal energy. Over time, typically several months from initial construction, as the LCZ stores more and more solar thermal energy, the brine température will approach boiling. This collected and stored solar thermal energy may be withdrawn (pumped hot brine) as process heat which may be used to generate electricity using an off the shelf, low-temperature heat engine.

The SGSP may collect and store heat, and deliver power at an average, uniform rate (base-load), or it may deliver power on an as needed basis (on-demand) giving distribution control of the power output rather than being forced to produce power solely when the wind blows or the sun shines, making SGSP 10 Systems many times more effective than intermittent renewables. The SGSP Systems may be easily constructed over large areas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The instant system and method, as illustrated herein, is clearly not anticipated, rendered obvious, or even présent in any of the prior art mechanisms, either alone or in any combination thereof. Thus the several embodiments of the instant system and method are illustrated herein.

The présent System and method, a Pond Rolling Method, provides an efficient means for practicing gradient maintenance in a Salinity Gradient Solar Pond (SGSP) power system. The Pond Rolling Method is more efficient than previously practiced methods for SGSP gradient maintenance, e.g., the Surface Wash method, and that improved efficiency is essential for the commercial practice of SGSP power Systems. The commercialization of the SGSP technology is vital to the renewable energy industry, particularly as intermittent renewables are leading to grid management issues and increased costs. The SGSP Systems collect and store heat, and are able to deliver power at an average, uniform rate (base-load), or on an as needed basis (on-demand) giving distribution control of the power output rather than being forced to produce power solely when the wind blows or the sun shines. This feature, along with other synergistic benefits which Good Earth Mechanics, LLC (GEM) has developed (e.g., large-scale sait sink 5 for environmental remediation), make SGSP Systems many times more effective than intermittent renewables. The GEM team is presently engaged in the commercial launch of their SGSP technology and the disclosed invention herein is crucial to that commercial launch. The Pond Rolling Method, along with 10 the previously disclosed Falling Pond system and practice to enable the Falling Pond Method, gives GEM positive control of the salinity gradient for commercial practice of the SGSP technology.

Good Earth Mechanics, LLC (GEM) is commercializing the 15 SGSP technology. The GEM SGSP team is comprised of the principals who operated the longest running SGSP engineering development and pilot démonstration in the world to date (University of Texas, El Paso) from 1985 to 2002 (Advancements in Salinity Gradient Solar Pond Technology Based on 16 Years of 20 Operational Expérience, Huanmin Lu, Andrew H. P. Swift, Herbert

D. Hein, Jr., John C. Walton; J. Solar Energy Eng., v.126, p. 759-767, May 2004). GEM will build and deploy the SGSP Systems using its 250kW commercial module, which uses two pond units for each module (see FIG. 2). The ponds are bermed 25 impoundments versus excavated holes, where the dirt from the pond centers is used to form the berms. The GEM SGSP Systems are modularly extensible: the GEM SGSP power system site can be as small as 250kW, or sealed up to hundreds of MW's, by simply adding more SGSP modules. A cutaway of the GEM SGSP system in 30 FIG. 2 shows how a typical off-the-shelf, low-temperature Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) heat engine circulâtes both the pond's hot bottom brine and cool surface water. The hot brine is the thermal source and the cool water serves as the ORC heat sink; it's the température différence between the bottom and the top of the SGSP system that drives the heat engine.

Due to the salinity stratification in the SGSP the upward diffusion of sait is a natural conséquence. This upward diffusion of sait has been found to be in the range of 60-80 gr/m²/day (Tabor, H.; Solar Ponds, Solar Energy, v.27 (3), pp.181-194, 1981 and v.30 (1), pp.85-86, 1983). Controlling the salinity gradient in SGSP Systems is vital to their reliable and efficient operation. The method for controlling the salinity gradient disclosed in this application, coined the Pond Rolling Method by the authors, enables the solar pond's upper and lower zones to be rapidly drained and stored in the corresponding zones of the surrounding ponds in the SGSP array (see FIG. 2); this minimizes the heat and water loss while efficiently utilizing the land allocated for the SGSP array. The available freeboard in the array's ponds is designed to allow for this periodically added volume, e.g., the freeboard within the array is designed for an extra 1/3 the volume of each of the upper and lower zones, in addition to the nominal freeboard to retain wind-induced wave action (i.e. for the case where the upper and lower zones of the pond under repair is stored in the surrounding three ponds, or 1/5 the added volume if stored in the surrounding five ponds, etc.). The modularity of the SGSP array, proposed for commercial practice by GEM, is key to the practice of the Pond Rolling method.

Once the pond's upper and lower zones hâve been pumped away, leaving only the gradient zone in the pond under repair, the gradient zone may be refurbished (procedures for doing this refurbishment are discussed under Disclosure of Invention). After the gradient zone has been refurbished, the volumes for the lower and upper zones are returned from the surrounding ponds. By storing the lower zone of the pond under repair in the hot lower zones of the surrounding ponds, the heat losses are minimized. Likewise storing the upper zone in the surrounding ponds minimizes water loss.

In the Pond Rolling Method the sait in the pond is allowed to diffuse upward over time and the method is used as needed to restore the gradient. Other methods used for controlling the SGSP gradient include the Surface Wash method depicted in FIG.

3.

In the Surface Wash method the sait is allowed to diffuse upward to the surface layer. As the surface layer gets saltier, it is replaced with fresh water, or washed. The displaced salty surface water is evaporated to concentrated sait brine in a separate évaporation pond and then returned to the SGSP bottom. This method, while workable for SGSP démonstration work and the typical gradient maintenance practice heretofore, is not practical for large scale SGSP commercialization due to the additional land requirement and the higher water and heat losses required to practice the method. The Pond Rolling Method is superior as it minimizes water, heat loss, required land, and costs compared with the Surface Wash method.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, a system and method relates generally to the practice of maintaining the salinity gradient in a Salinity Gradient Solar Pond (SGSP), and more particularly to a system and method to refurbish the nonconvective zone in a SGSP in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the présent contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is 5 to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty, which characterize the 10 invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the spécifie objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in 15 which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrâtes a perspective diagram of the basic workings of an exemplary Salinity Gradient Solar Pond (SGSP).

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrâtes one embodiment of the Good Earth Mechanics (GEM) 250 kW Commercial SGSP Module, which may utilize at least two pond units for each module.

FIG. 3 illustrâtes an exemplary known in the art practiced method for controlling a SGSP gradient termed the Surface Wash Method.

FIG. 4 illustrâtes one embodiment of a Falling Pond Device in operation with an SGSP system to maintain the salinity 30 gradient.

FIG. 5 illustrâtes a cutaway view of one embodiment of the présent SGSP system, showing the typical dimensions for the pond's three layers: the Upper Convective Zone; the NonConvective Layer; and the Lower Convective Zone.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrâtes several embodiment of a notional schéma for transferring the hot LCZ from an individual pond in the SGSP array to the corresponding LCZ's in the surrounding seven ponds.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL EMBODIMENTS

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention and does not represent the only forms in which the présent invention may be constructed and/or utilized. The description sets forth the fùnctions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments.

GEM has developed two practices to efficiently maintain the SGSP gradient in commercial operation, either of which by itself would theoretically be sufficient to maintain the SGSP gradient, whereas both methods together ensure GEM's ability to control the SGSP gradient. The first practice, a Falling Pond Device to enable the Falling Pond Method, was disclosed in an earlier Application.

The Falling Pond Method is depicted in Figure 4, where the Device causes the gradient to fall at the same rate as the sait diffuses upward in the pond. The second practice, coined as the Pond Rolling Method by the authors, is the subject of this Application.

It may be shown that the velocity of the natural upward diffusion of sait is:

where s = sait concentration k_s = sait diffusivity (~1.55E-09 m²/s) z = depth (m) V = velocity (m/s)

For a typical GEM 250kW commercial SGSP module, as depicted in Figure 2, the diffusion velocity is approximately 1.29E-09 m/s, or *1.6 inches per year.

The Pond Rolling Method allows that the natural diffusion of sait will occur unabated and, over time, will require the salinity gradient to be refurbished. This gradient refurbishment will be done on condition, i.e., as needed. Nominally, the gradient will need refurbishment every three years or so (e.g., *5 inches upward propagation of the gradient). Note that GEM's Falling Pond Device is designed to maintain the gradient in place and, if working perfectly, would negate the need for the Pond Rolling Method. However, extraneous deleterious effects to the gradient are anticipated in commercial operations (e.g., high wind events eroding the upper gradient, biota events leading to gradient instability, etc.) and the Pond Rolling Method provides a back-up plan to the Falling Pond Method for GEM's salinity gradient maintenance. Additionally, the Pond Rolling Method also enables GEM to efficiently drain and refill the solar ponds for conducting maintenance on the pond or liner.

To illustrate the pond Rolling Method (PRM) see the cross section of a typical SGSP in Figure 5, which shows the three distinct zones of the SGSP system: [1] the upper convective 30 zone (UCZ), which is the ambient température fresh to slightly brackish homogeneous upper layer; [2] the non-convective zone (NCZ), which is the gradient layer that is to be refurbished (e.g./ gradient skewed due to diffusion, mixing, etc.); and [3] the lower convective zone (LCZ), which is the high salinity, hot bottom layer that stores the solar thermal energy. The PRM is used to refurbish the NCZ in an individual pond by first draining the LCZ and UCZ from the pond in such a way as to minimize heat and water loss and required land. The NCZ is then refurbished in situ, after which the LCZ and UCZ are 10 replaced to complété the PRM.

To do this optimized drain and rebuild of an individual pond the PRM incorporâtes GEM's modular design (Figure 2). The LCZ and UCZ from the pond under repair are pumped to the corresponding zones of the surrounding ponds, as notionalized 15 in Figure 6. The left hand graphie in Figure 6 illustrâtes the transfer of the LCZ for the general case of an internai pond within the SGSP array (note that the eight ponds shown in the graphie would generally equate to a 1MW base-load SGSP system,

i.e., four 250kW heat engines as shown in Figure 2). A simple 20 unit comprised of hoses and a pump is used to transfer twice the nominal LCZ circulation flow from the pond under repair, indicated by the ”2x arrows in Figure 6. There are generally three of these pump and hose units, to pump a total of six times the nominal LCZ flow to the surrounding three ponds.

Then each of the surrounding three ponds redistributes half that inflow, i.e., one times the nominal LCZ flow, to its counterpart pond in the 250kW module; no additional plumbing is needed for this ”lx distribution as the GEM 250kW SGSP modules are equipped to allow withdrawing from one pond and returning 30 LCZ flow to the counterpart (e.g., versus recirculating the same pond as is the nominal practice). Likewise the pond under repair pumps its LCZ flow to its counterpart. This PRM LCZ transfer schéma enables the redistribution of the repair pond's LCZ to seven hot LCZ's in the surrounding ponds, thereby preserving most of the thermal energy in the LCZ of the pond under repair. The UCZ from the pond under repair is likewise redistributed to the surrounding ponds' UCZ's, but at roughly l/3^rd the circulation rate of the LCZ since there's less volume to transfer. For a typical 6.25 acre SGSP pond (fiat bottom area, 50 acres for a base-load MW) and 1000 gpm LCZ circulation rate (e.g., for Pratt & Whitney 250kW PureCycle unit using R134a réfrigérant), the 7x transfer rate would require approximately 26 hrs to transfer the 33.1 acre-feet of the pond's LCZ. In this time the UCZ is likewise transferred, leaving the to-be-refurbished NCZ standing alone in the repair pond. Such an LCZ-UCZ transfer schéma requires approximately 10 of temporarily available freeboard in the surrounding seven ponds, well within the built-in freeboard of the array (see Figure 5) . The right hand graphies of Figure 6 show the redistribution schéma for an end-pond (top graphie) and for a corner-pond (bottom graphie) within the SGSP array. If the array size was smaller than 1MW base-load (eight ponds) then additional freeboard would be required in the array pond design to accommodate the PRM transfer schéma (e.g., for the same solar insolation requiring 50 acres of flat-bottom pondcollector for a base-load SGSP MW), a two-pond design (i.e., a single GEM 250kW module) would require an additional 5.5' of temporary freeboard.

Once the to-be-refurbished NCZ is the only remaining material in the pond under repair it is available to be rebuilt in-situ. One method for doing this is to use mechanical evaporators to concentrate the remaining brine to near10 saturation. Using typical evaporators¹ in a nominal humidity environment, it will require 15 evaporator units to concentrate the NCZ in five days (approximately 0.4 acres évaporation area per unit) . With the remaining fluid in the repair pond 5 concentrated brine, the NCZ can then be rebuilt by scaninjecting fresh water (e.g., as discussed in the literature²), or other salinity fluid being used for the UCZ in the operational area (e.g., brackish discharge from a desalination facility). The scan-injection volume for the nominal case being considered here is approximately 14.6 acre-feet requiring approximately 1.65 days to establish the gradient (at a nominal scan-injection rate of 2000 gpm total). The hot LCZ would then be recovered from the surrounding ponds (i.e., reverse the flow-arrows/equipment in Figure 6) as well as the UCZ, thereby 15 refurbishing the SGSP gradient. Enhancements to the PRM, e.g., to be determined in early GEM SGSP practice, include evaporating the NCZ to less-than fully saturated so that when it contacts the hot LCZ upon refill the upper boundary of the saturated LCZ seats the interface between the two layers via 20 localized mixing promoted by the large température différence and momentum of the injected fluid.

Allowing for set up time³, the entire rebuild for a single pond would take approximately 10 days (2.2 days drain/refill, 5 days concentrate, 1.6 days scan-inject, 1.2 days set-up and de25 rig). Along with the required power for the évaporation and fluid transfer, the GEM PRM results in a -1.1% parasitic,

For example, using an SMI 420F (spray nozzle ïmpinging on whirling impeller) mechanical evaporator.

Advancements in Salinily Gradient SolarPond Technology Based on 16 Years of Operational

Expérience, Huanmin Lu, Andrew H. P. Swift, Herbert D. Hein, Jr., John C. Walton; J. Solar Energy Eng„ v. 126, p. 759-767, May 2004 ³ To be designed equipment, e.g., transfer pumps and hose units, difhisers, scan-injectors, handlîng equipment, etc.

considered very workable from an SGSP commercialization standpoint.

Figure 1 shows the basic workings of a Salinity Gradient Solar Pond (SGSP) . A SGSP is a shallow, salt-gradient pond that enables the collection and storage of solar thermal energy, as noted in the figure. In the SGSP, solar energy is absorbed by the pond's bottom which in turn heats the adjacent salt-saturated fluid (the Lower Convective Zone, or LCZ, in Figure 1) . Since the LCZ is heavier than the layers above it 10 due to its higher salinity, the heated fluid cannot rise in the pond and cool, like a normal pond, but rather remains on the bottom, getting hotter as it stores more solar thermal energy. Over time, typically several months from initial construction, as the LCZ stores more and more solar thermal energy, the brine 15 température will approach boiling. This collected and stored solar thermal energy can be withdrawn (pumped hot brine) as process heat which can be used to generate electricity using an off the shelf, low-temperature heat engine. Acting as a largescale solar thermal battery, the SGSP can collect and store 20 heat, and deliver power at an average, uniform rate (baseload) , or can deliver power on an as needed basis (on-demand) giving distribution control of the power output rather than being forced to produce power solely when the wind blows or the sun shines, making SGSP Systems many times more effective than 25 intermittent renewables.

Figures 2A-2C depicts the Good Earth Mechanics (GEM) 250 kW Commercial SGSP Module, which uses two pond units for each module. The ponds are bermed impoundments versus excavated holes, where the dirt from the pond centers is used to form the 30 berms. The GEM SGSP Systems are modularly extensible: the GEM SGSP power System site can be as small as 250kW, or sealed up to 100's of MW's, by simply adding more SGSP modules. A cutaway of the GEM SGSP system in figure shows how a typical off-the-shelf, low-temperature Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) heat engine circulâtes both the pond's hot bottom brine and the cool surface water. The hot brine is the thermal source and the 5 cool water serves as the ORC heat sink; it's the température différence between the bottom and the top of the SGSP system that drives the heat engine.

Figure 3 shows the conventionally practiced method for controlling the SGSP gradient termed the Surface Wash Method.

In the Surface Wash method the sait is allowed to diffuse upward to the surface layer. As the surface layer gets saltier, it is replaced with fresh water, or washed. The displaced salty surface water is evaporated to concentrated sait brine in a separate évaporation pond and then returned to 15 the SGSP bottom. This method, while workable for SGSP démonstration work and the typical gradient maintenance practice heretofore, is not practical for large scale SGSP commercialization due to the additional land requirement and the higher water and heat losses required to practice the 20 method. The Pond Rolling Method is superior as it minimizes water, heat Ioss, required land, and costs compared with the Surface Wash method.

Figure 4 depicts the basic operation of a generic Falling Pond Device in operation with an SGSP system to maintain the 25 salinity gradient. Due to the salinity stratification in the SGSP the upward diffusion of sait is a natural conséquence. Controlling the salinity gradient in SGSP Systems is vital to their reliable and efficient operation. One method proposed for controlling the salinity gradient is the Falling Pond 30 method depicted in the figure. A Falling Pond Device shown in the figure is intended to continuously maintain the salinity gradient in-place by extracting water from the saturated brine on the bottom of the pond and moving it to the top; this action causes the pond's layers to be continuously cycled downward, or fall. This rate of fall, or downward velocity, can be controlled to match the rate of upward diffusion of sait in the 5 SGSP, thereby maintaining the gradient in-place. GEM has previously disclosed a system and practice for applying the Falling Pond method.

Figure 5 is a cutaway of a GEM SGSP system, showing the typical dimensions for the pond's three layers: the Upper 10 Convective Zone (homogeneous fresh to low-salinity top zone); the Non-Convective Layer (sait, température, and density stratified zone which acts as a barrier for mass transport of heat within the SGSP system) ; and the Lower Convective Zone (homogeneous sait saturated lower zone which collects and 15 stores the solar thermal energy). The figure also shows the available freeboard for a typical GEM SGSP system array, which is used as shared temporary storage when rebuilding the gradients of individual ponds within the GEM SGSP array.

Figures 6A-6C shows notional schéma for transferring the 20 hot LCZ from an individual pond in the GEM SGSP array to the corresponding LCZ's in the surrounding seven ponds. This schéma allows for retaining most of the heat in the LCZ of the pond under repair while minimizing the dirt work within the array (e.g., a typical GEM SGSP array will temporarily utilize 25 less than 10 of the available freeboard in Figure 5 for storing the UCZ and LCZ of a pond that is having its NCZ refurbished).

The présent invention, a Pond Rolling Method, provides an efficient means for practicing gradient maintenance in an SGSP 30 power system. The Pond Rolling Method is more efficient than previously practiced methods for SGSP gradient maintenance, e.g., the Surface Wash method, and that improved efficiency is essential for the commercial practice of SGSP power Systems. The commercialization of the SGSP technology is vital to the renewable energy industry, particularly as intermittent renewables are leading to grid management issues and increased 5 costs. The SGSP Systems collect and store heat, and are able to deliver power at an average, uniform rate (base-load), or on an as needed basis (on-demand) giving distribution control of the power output rather than being forced to produce power solely when the wind blows or the sun shines. This feature, 10 along with other synergistic benefits which GEM has developed (e.g., large-scale sait sink for environmental remediation), make SGSP Systems many times more effective than intermittent renewables. The GEM team is presently engaged in the commercial launch of their SGSP technology and the disclosed invention 15 herein is crucial to that commercial launch. The Pond Rolling Method, along with the previously disclosed Falling Pond system and practice to enable the Falling Pond Method, gives GEM positive control of the salinity gradient for commercial practice of the SGSP technology.

In conclusion, herein is presented a system and method for maintaining the salinity gradient in a Salinity Gradient Solar Pond (SGSP) . The invention is illustrated by example in the flow diagrams and figures, and throughout the written description. It should be understood that numerous variations 25 are possible, while adhering to the inventive concept. Such variations are contemplated as being a part of the présent invention.

Claims (4)

1. What is claimed is:

   1. A method to refurbish a non-convective zone in a salinity 10 gradient solar pond comprising the steps of:

   draining an upper convective zone and a lower convective zone from a salinity gradient solar pond utilizing a plurality of transfer units, storing the upper convective zone and the lower convective 15 zone in a corresponding zone of at least one surrounding ponds;

   refurbishing the non-convective zone of the salinity gradient solar pond; and returning the upper convective zone and the lower convective zone from at least one surrounding pond to the 20 salinity gradient solar pond via the plurality of transfer units.
2. 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: conditioning a lower part of the refurbished non-

   25 convective zone to enable a preferred gradient interface between the lower convective zone and the non-convective zone once the hot lower convective zone is returned to the pond under repair and partially mixes with the cooler, refurbished non-convective zone.
3. 3. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of: designing the SGSP array modularity to minimize the requisite freeboard in the ponds and required transfer time to enable the practice of the Pond Rolling Method as disclosed 35 herein.
4. 5 4. The method of claim 1, wherein each transfer unit comprises at least one device selected from the group consisting of: a plurality of hoses, a plurality of pipes, and a plurality of pumps.