HTF Degradation
HTF Degradation
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Dow‘s Corporate Profile
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Concentrating Solar Power
DOWTHERMTM A heat transfer fluids collect, transport, and store
solar heat energy to power electricity-generating turbines.
Sustainability Profile:
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DOWTHERMTM A: Sustainable
performance
DOWTHERM™ A thermally stable up to 400 deg Celsius. With a HTTF
system properly designed and no temperature incursion above 400 deg
C, fluid is proven extremely stable.
A high purity fluid is required for high temperature system or faster
degradation will occur. Dow supplies very high purity DOWTHERM™A
to enhance lifetime of its fluid.
Properly designed Systems can regularly vent off low boiling
degradation products. Online regeneration systems can be used in the
HTF loop to remove high boiling degradation products also. Dow offers
advice to properly design these units.
Maintaining the high-boiling component concentration below 10% is
essential:
Dow offers support to best design the HTTF loop, as well as to track
performance by regularly sampling and analyzing the fluid.
DOW and Valls Química are offering regeneration services for Spanish
CSP.
Feedbacks from plants started ca. 20 years ago indicate that the fluid is
in excellent condition.
™ Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company 7
Thermal Degradation of
DOWTHERM™ A Fluid
100
90
% degradation per year
80
70
60
Tested
50 according to
For CSP plants:
40 DIN 51528
30 1-4% /year
20 degradation products
10 expected
0
330 340 350 360 370 380 390 400 410 420
Operating temperature [°C]
™ Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company 8
Handling of degradation products
Separation options:
1. Basic separation of Low Boilers via venting – replacement of
total HTF after 10% High Boilers is reached.
2. Onsite separation via high efficiency distillation unit – external
incineration of separated products.
3. Onsite separation via flash vessel design (ullage) - high
efficient separation externally.
Third option is the most economic
Low installation cost
Easy operability
Acceptable freezing point of separated products & no
corrosion problems
No care on transportation and waste handling
Dow and Valls Química, your reliable partners for
high quality external regeneration.
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Handling of degradation products
with ULLAGE system
Batch
Regeneration of min. 25 up to 200
MT Dowtherm™ A
Pickup of products to regenerate
Handling of transportation documents
Purify back to DOWTHERM™ A sales
specification
Minimum losses on DPO and Biphenyl
Adjustment of component level if
required
Handling of waste products
Own laboratory for quality control
Shipment of product back to the CSP plant
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