Experimental Study on Thermal Performance of Mixed Nitrate and Carbonate Salts Available to Purchase

Although molten salts have been used in large scale in the experimental or commercial solar thermal power plants, systematic studies on thermal performence of mixed-salts are lacking. Four eutectic nitrate salts with low melting point were choosed by the analysis of the TG curve and DSC curves with nine binary mixtures of salts with different mass ratio, the specific heat-temperature curve were obtained after further analysis of the DSC curve and experimental correlations were fitted. Potassium carbonate, lithium carbonate, sodium carbonate are mixed in accordance with the different proportions, 36 kinds of mixed molten salt are obtained. The data of melting point, decomposition temperature, specific heat, latent heat and use temperature range were obtained by the analysis of the TGA and DSC curves of 36 salts.