Molten salt electrolysis is a proven technology for the extraction of metals -all the world's primary aluminum is produced in this manner. The unique properties of molten salts also make them excellent media in which to treat a variety of forms of waste. Of special note in this regard is electrolysis in molten oxides, a concept put forward by the author, initially as a "clean technology" for pr...

Many thermal solar power plants use thermal oil as heat transfer fluid, and molten salts as thermal energy storage. Oil absorbs energy from sun light, and transfers it to a water-steam cycle across heat exchangers, to be converted into electric energy by means of a turbogenerator, or to be stored in a thermal energy storage system so that it can be later transferred to the water-steam cycle. Th...

Compounding between NiO and La(2)O(3) protects the latter from water and molten salt attack, and ensures successful direct electrolytic conversion of the oxide precursors, in the solid state, to more affordable LaNi(5)-type hydrogen storage materials.

The interfacial tension (IFT) between aluminium and cryolite melts containing different salt additions (AlF3, NaF, Na2SO4) has been measured during electrolysis by the capillary depression method. The technique is based on the measurement of the capillary depression occurring when a capillary, which is moved vertically down through the molten salt layer, passes through the metal/salt interface....

Sac7d unfolds at low pH in the absence of salt, with the greatest extent of unfolding obtained at pH 2. We have previously shown that the acid unfolded protein is induced to refold by decreasing the pH to 0 or by addition of salt (McCrary BS, Bedell J. Edmondson SP, Shriver JW, 1998, J Mol Biol 276:203-224). Both near-ultraviolet circular dichroism spectra and ANS fluorescence enhancements indi...

Tubular solar thermal receivers suitable for central towers are modelled using energy and exergy analysis, in a way that allows individual inspection of the the irreversibilities associated with the various receiver heat transfer processes occurring. The model was used to compare the behaviour of four working fluids: molten salt (NaNO3/KNO3), liquid sodium metal, supercritical carbon dioxide, a...

Molten salts are potential energy storage media for solar thermal power, but can be highly corrosive. To investigate molten salt corrosion mechanisms, the oxidation state and structure of SS316L exposed to in air argon environments was investigated using SEM XANES techniques. It determined that iron formed mixed Fe2+ Fe3+ states both environments, with lower deeper into corrosion. Cr2+ primary ...

In this study, the effect of nanoparticle concentration was tested for both CuO and TiO₂ in eutectic mixture of sodium and potassium nitrate. Results showed an enhancement in specific heat capacity (Cp) for both types of nanoparticles (+10.48% at 440 °C for 0.1 wt % CuO and +4.95% at 440 °C for 0.5 wt % TiO₂) but the behavior toward a rise in concentration was different with CuO displaying its ...

A chloride-based molten-salt system that uses a ternary blend of MgCl2/KCl/NaCl is investigated to provide higher-temperature thermal energy storage capability than conventional nitrate salt-based systems. Despite their high stability and operating temperature, molten chlorides present several challenges, including the design internal liners prevent corrosion stress alloy tank shells. This work...