10/23/2016 Molten salts pipes

design requirements
and supporting
considerations

Angel Rodríguez Fernández

1 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

1. What is molten salt?

Molten salt is fluid obtained from a mixture at high temperature between sodium nitrate
NaNO3 (60%) and potassium nitrate KNO3 (40%).
The advantages of molten salts as Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) and Thermal Storage System
(TES) are the reason why their development is increasing at this moment, instead of other
fluids used before.
The cost for the required volume of heat exchangers and pumps are highly reduced by the
use of liquid salts instead of other fluids due to their higher volumetric heat capacity without
the need of pressurizing.
Fluid salts provide the potential for improved heat transfer and reduced pumping powers and
volume of the heat exchanger compared with other fluids. Molten salts have a 25% higher
volumetric heat capacity than pressurized water,
When it is used as a thermal storage fluid, it maintains its temperature during long periods of
time, and it can be pumped at high temperature, because its working range of temperatures
are between 260 and 600ºC.
Its main characteristics are the following ones:
- It is both non-toxic and inert
- It is non flammable
- It is a low cost fluid with excellent heat transport properties:
o High coefficient of heat transfer
o High heat capacity
o High density (at 300ºC density = 1899 kg/m3)
o Low operative pressures
- Freezing temperature 238ºC
- Melting temperature 221ºC
- Heat of fusion 161kJ/kg
- Volume change on fusion 4.6%

The molten salt is a mixture obtained at high temperature, and in case the fluid gets frozen,
chemical reactions will happen in their components so it will be not reusable. That is the
reason why in the systems where this fluid is used, to maintain the temperature above
freezing temperature is a critical issue.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

2 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

2. Plants where Molten Salt is used

Molten salt has been used as a thermal storage fluid, but in some solar tower plants it is
being used as the fluid that is heated directly by the sunlight, and at the same time it is used
as thermal storage fluid.

1.1 CSP thermosolar power plants

In CSP thermosolar power plants, it could be possible to use molten salts instead of HTF as
the fluid to be heated in the parabolic collectors. The temperature could be much higher than
the HTF (393ºC)and the efficiency could be much higher. But their freezing point is too high
so it is very difficult to assure that they will be maintained above 260ºC. That is the reason
why in this plants they are mainly used only in the thermal storage system.
A typical CSP plant with thermal storage system, works at it is shown in the Figure.1:
- During daylight the HTF heated in the solar field, generates steam in the steam
generators and interchange heat with the molten salt in some heat interchangers.
The molten salt is pumped thru those heat interchangers and is stored in the “hot”
tank, where it is maintained at 390ºC.
- When there is not enough sunlight to heat the HTF fluid, and it is necessary to
produce electricity, the molten salt is pumped from the “hot” tank to the “cold” tank
(where is maintained at 290ºC), going through the heat exchangers, it heats the HTF.
That heated HTF fluid is pumped into the steam generators, and steam is produced.

Figure 1 CSP power plant with molten salt storage system

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

3 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

Figure 2 Molten salt tanks in a thermal storage system

1.2 Solar Power Tower

In this configuration, individual mirrors called heliostats are moved independently to focus
the sunlight at the top of a tower. At that area high temperatures are reached.
Some tower power plants generate steam directly at the top of the tower; this system
presents some limitations in pressure and temperatures at the receptor. So in order to use
higher temperatures, other fluids are used, such as the molten salts.
Molten salts provides two functions, one to generate steam in the steam generators and
the other one to be stored at high temperature in a “hot” tank that can be used as a
thermal storage reservoir.
With molten salts, the fluid temperature can be increased up to 560ºC so the efficiency of
the plant is increased. In these plants, the molten salt is heated in the receptor at the top
of the tower, after that, it is storage in the hot tank or directly used in the steam generators.
The use of a thermal storage tank, allows generating steam at night, interchanging the
molten salt from the hot tank to the cold one (with a temperature of 290ºC). In figure 3 it is
shown the working schema of a Solar Power Tower with molten salt and storage system.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

4 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

Figure 3Working schema of a central tower plant with Molten salt storage and generating system

3. Molten Salt pipe design requirements

In base of the type of plant and the temperatures reached with molten salt, the pipe
material can have some special requirements.
In CSP power plants where it is used as thermal storage system, the temperatures are
always under 400ºC and the maximum design pressure is under 20 barg. So a carbon
steel A106 Gr.C Schedule STD can be used for those pipes.
In Solar Tower Plants, the molten salt reaches 566ºC so alloyed steel like A335 Gr.P91
should be used. But the pressure in those plants is much higher than in CSP thermal
storage systems, so the Schedule of that alloyed material must be really high. In this case,
it must be considered the use of stainless steel pipes for the hot collector (coming from the
solar receptor) and carbon steel pipes for the cold collector that goes back into the solar
receptor.
The hot tank is maintained at a temperature of 566ºC, so the material of the tank shells
should be alloyed steel P91, but always instead of this material, stainless steel is used in
this tank.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

5 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

Due this system will have a large number of thermal cycles, the socket welded unions
shall be avoided as much as possible, no reduce the risk of a fatigue crack in the
connection between the pipe and the socket accessories.

3.1 Requirements related with the Molten Salt freezing point

The particular properties about the freezing temperature will affect to the plant design. To
maintain the fluid above 260ºC electrical tracing is used in those pipes, and in all the
equipments that must be maintained filled with molten salt. In addition, large electrical
heaters are inserted inside the hot and the cold molten salt storage tanks, in order to
maintain the minimum temperature of 260ºC

The following systems are used to maintain the temperature in the system:

- Electrical tracing, it must assure that the temperature of the fluid does not go under
260ºC. This element consists on several rigid resistances located around the pipe and
the equipments. Due the temperature to be maintained is above 260ºC, they must be a
rigid resistance and it will affect to the pipe design

Figure 4 Molten salt pipe electrical tracing

- Inert gas (N2) inserted in molten salt pipes and tanks. In order to minimize the heat
losses, instead of allowing the outer air to enter the tank once its volume is decreasing
N2 intert gas is used. The gas is maintained at high temperature, so the risk of molten
salt freezing is minimized. When one tank reduces its volume, N2 from the other tank
is transferred, so the heat losses are minimized.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

6 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

3.2 Requirements related with the Molten Salt density

The density of the molten salt varies with the temperature, with a value of 1899 kg/m3 at
300ºC. In order to absorb the density variations, both tanks (cold and hot) must be
dimensioned to consider the volume changes.
The stress analysis must consider the density variations to define the spring hanger loads
and displacements depending on the temperature of the pipe.

3.3 Molten Salt Pump Considerations

The molten salt pumps must be designed specifically, because of the fluid characteristics
and the high temperature operation.
In central tower units, the molten salt can reach temperatures up to 600ºC, while in parabolic
trough plants with thermal storage system, the temperatures are around 400ºC. the design
of the pumps for these applications requires extensive coordination between materials and
plant technology and engineering.
Vertical pumps mounted in tanks are preferred to simplify the molten salt system. This
eliminates the need for pump sumps, isolating valves, level instrumentation and associated
heaters. It also reduces heat losses and allows the heat exchangers to drain directly into the
tanks.

Figure 5 Vertical Pump drawing for a molten salt Hot tank in a csp plant with thermal storage.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

7 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

3.4 Other considerations with the Molten Salt systems

The other considerations to be defined during the pipe selection criteria, are related to the
concept that no leakage can happen, not because it where a toxic fluid (it is not toxic, nor
hazardous nor inflammable). The problem is than in case it gets frozen it can generate
problems in that area.
If the leakage happens in a valve (that valve will get locked with the fluid once it becomes
solid). And to avoid leakages in the flanged joints, the gaskets and seals must be designed
for high temperature and a high number of cycles.
All the in line elements and equipments included in this system must be designed in order to
work without problems with this high density fluid, and with these high temperatures, and in
solar tower plants with high pressure in some areas.
Molten salt is a not really well known fluid, and many of the known characteristics have been
estimated, because the working temperatures make it really difficult to analyse it. This is the
reason why some unexpected behaviours can happen with pipes that transport this fluid
when it is at really high temperature and with pressure variations.
Nowadays in solar tower power plants, in the way they are increasing the power capacity,
the tower height, the diameter of molten salt pipes, etc, some problems are being discovered
and new solutions must be applied.
In molten salt pipes, is really important to define a safe way to drain the pipe, and to drain
the pipe completely, because if some amount of fluid is leave in the pipe, and the electrical
tracing is switch of in that pipe (because it is supposed it is empty), it will become solid, and
some problems will happen once it goes again into operation.
To assure the drain of the pipe higher slopes are defined and drain tanks for molten salts
must be located at certain areas to collect all the molten salt. Once this drain tank is full of
fluid, a sump pump will send it to the hot or the cold tank.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

8 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

Figure 6 Pipe slope Towards drain tank

4. Molten Salt Pipe support design requirements

Most of the previous problems related, must be mitigated with a correct pipe support design.
As it happens with the pipe design criteria, every special property of molten salt fluid must be
taken into account in the pipe support design. There are two main issues that must be
considered: avoid heat losses and accommodate the heat tracing lines.
To reduce the thermal losses and to avoid “cold” areas in the pipe, the pipe supports will be
based in the design and materials used in cryogenic pipe supports. In this way those
problems can be minimize.

3.1 Pipe supports clamp design

The main difference between an standard pipe support and a molten salt pipe support is that
while in an STD pipe support the clamp is in contact with the pipe surface, in these pipes a
insulation material in inserted between the pipe clamp and the pipe surface.
The material used between the pipe and the clamp is generally Calcium Silicate, that is a
really fragile material, although it has an elevated mechanical resistance to the compression.
The thickness of that insulation material must be the same as the rest of the pipe.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

9 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

Figure 7 Molten salt pipe supports

3.2 Pipe support design in accordance with the electrical tracing

The electrical tracing is really important in these pipes, so there cannot be areas without
contact between the tracing and the pipe surface. In figure 7 it can be observed how the
insulations material is drilled in the area next to pipe surface, and through those holes, the
electrical tracing must be routed.
Depending on the pipe diameter, the number and the distance between the electrical
resistances will vary.

Figure 8 Typical design of heat tray cutouts in molten salt pipe supports

A lot of analysis has been performed to check the way the heat is transferred in these pipe
supports. And they have defined that this is the best system to avoid cold areas in the pipes
and to minimize the heat loses.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR

10 PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM

Figure 9 Heat transfer analysis in calcium silicate pipe clamp

The main challenge to use this type of pipe support, is that there cannot be a direct contact
with the external clamp and any welded element or in contact with the pipe surface. And at
the same time the calcium silicate has no resistance to the traction loads, so these pipe
supports must have an special design.

Figure 10 Example of special tridirecional clamped design

Sometimes, to accommodate the high slope of drain lines, the steel structure of the pipe supports
must be designed in accordance with it.

PLANT ENGINEERING WORKSHOP 2016 – WWW.INIPED.COM |SEMINAR