INFLUENCE of ELECTRIC FIELD on STRUCTURE and PROPERTIES of TERNARY CARBONATE MOLTEN SALT

Abstract

Molten salt is one of the important heat storage materials in the field of solar thermal utilization, and nanoparticles can improve partial thermal properties of molten salt. To investigate whether nanoparticles with charge can affect the structure of molten salt ions, the micro electric field of nanoparticles was replaced by applied electric field and the liquid Li2CO3- Na2CO3-K2CO3 was solidified in the electric field. DSC was used to determine the phase change temperatures and latent heat, and thermal stability was analyzed by TG curve. At last, the microstructures of molten salt were analyzed by SEM. Results show that the applied electric field can reduce the starting and ending temperatures of the carbonate by about 10°C as well as the latent heat. The mass loss rates of molten salt samples at the positive and negative plates are 1.44% and 0.81% respectively at 700°, and these samples have higher thermal stability than normal molten salt. The applied electric field can produce new microstructure of molten salt near positive and negative plates.