Browsing by Author "Battisti, Felipe G."

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    An in-depth system-level assessment of green hydrogen production by coupling solid oxide electrolysis and solar thermal systems
    (2025) Arias, Ignacio; Castillejo Cuberos, Armando; Battisti, Felipe G.; Romero Ramos, J.A.; Pérez, Manuel; González Portillo, L.F.; Valenzuela, Loreto; Cardemil Iglesias, José Miguel; Escobar, Rodrigo
    This study presents a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of green hydrogen production utilizing a third-generation Concentrated Solar Power system integrated with Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells, examining system configurations under variable climatic conditions in Chile and Spain. By employing dynamic simulation models that consider hourly and sub-hourly datasets, the research assesses the impact of solar irradiance variability on hydrogen production efficiency. The integration approach explores the efficacy of utilizing high-temperature solar power-derived heat for enhanced electrolysis operation, highlighting the critical influence of solar resource quality and data temporal resolution in system performance. Several scenarios involving different solar multiples, thermal energy storage capacities, and electrolyzer sizes were analyzed to identify their effects on the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen. The economic analysis reveals that this cost is notably sensitive to operational parameters and system configurations, suggesting that optimal integration and scaling of solar power and electrolysis technologies could significantly reduce hydrogen production costs. The findings underscore the need for targeted energy policies and investments in renewable technologies to support cost-effective hydrogen production, promoting future research focusing on advanced materials for electrolysis cells and improved system integration strategies. This work enhances the understanding of integrating advanced solar thermal and electrolysis technologies, providing a robust framework for advancing global sustainable energy solutions.
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    Design and assessment of a concentrating solar thermal system for industrial process heat with a copper slag packed-bed thermal energy storage
    (2024) David-Hernandez, Marco A.; Calderon-Vasquez, Ignacio; Battisti, Felipe G.; Cardemil, Jose M.; Cazorla-Marin, Antonio
    Decarbonising the industrial sector is a key part of climate change mitigation targets, and Solar Heat for Industrial Process (SHIP) is a promising technology to achieve this. However, one of the drawbacks of SHIP systems is that they rely on an intermittent energy source. Therefore, sensible energy storage has emerged as a potential solution. In addition, solid byproducts have been proposed as a low-cost but effective material for thermal energy storage (TES). This work presents a SHIP system model coupled with a copper slag-packed-bed TES (PBTES) model using air as heat transfer fluid. The TES has been implemented to preheat the makeup water of the tank where steam is generated. A system design was carried out using a parametric analysis to find a solar field size and a corresponding TES volume. The resulting system was simulated, and the operating variables were analysed in detail. The results show that it is possible to generate 20% more energy due to the storage system. Additionally, a techno-economic analysis indicates that the SHIP with PBTES system results in a payback period of 14 years and a savings of CO2 emissions of 30 t CO2.
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    Geometric optimization of a solar tower receiver operating with supercritical CO2 as working fluid
    (2023) Emerick, Bruno S.; Battisti, Felipe G.; da Silva, Alexandre K.
    Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants represent a viable technology already operational in several locations worldwide. Among the numerous challenges associated with this technology, the proper design of the receiver is arguably one of the most critical. In that sense, the present study proposes using supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as the working fluid for a cylindrical solar tower receiver. The receiver is modeled at steady state and considers a hybrid formulation that combines a 1-D model for the fluid flow and a 2-D CFD-based model for the conduction heat transfer process within the receiver walls. The analysis parametrically considers the number of plates composing the receiver and the number of channels in each plate, the s-CO2 mass flow rate, and the receiver aspect ratio as independent variables while focusing on the receiver's efficiency as the figure of merit. The analysis also considers two radiation boundary conditions over the receiver surface: (i) an idealized uniformly distributed heat flux and (ii) a real TMY-based spatially distributed radiation heat flux. As expected, the results indicate that the number of plates and the mass flow rate of the cooling fluid highly influence the receiver's efficiency. More interesting, however, is that by assuming a fixed external area for the receiver and parametrically varying the number of plates composing that receiver, it is possible to identify the design that maximizes the receiver's efficiency. The optimal number of plates changes with the receiver height, while the maximized efficiency is lightly sensitive to it. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that the appearance of a maximal value for the receiver's efficiency is associated with a competition between the radiation heat losses and the pumping expenditure needed to move the s-CO2 through the receiver.
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    Operational dynamics of packed-bed thermal energy storage: A novel approach to monitor its thermal state
    (2025) Calderón Vásquez, Ignacio Andrés; Battisti, Felipe G.; Escobar Moragas, Rodrigo; Cardemil Iglesias, José Miguel
    Heating solids arranged in a packed bed is a simple method to store sensible thermal energy. This study focuses on cylindrical packed-bed configurations, where a temperature profile develops along the stacked solids and moves towards the system's outlet. Therefore, the availability to store thermal energy in the packed bed decreases over time and the exhaust energy outside the storage increases. To address this challenge, the present work introduces a novel operational metric to monitor the thermal state of packed-bed storage systems. This operational metric relates the stored potential in the system with an ideal stage, and its definition enables constraining the system's operation with a simple mathematical condition, which is a significant outcome from the traditional approach of using arbitrary temperature limits to stop the charging process. Its calculation requires the measurement of the top and bottom temperatures of the packed bed and knowing the system's maximum operating temperatures. When applying the mathematical condition, the required charging time to reach that stage and the cut-off temperature can be obtained. A parametric analysis correlated these operating quantities to design data to predict their value given the design conditions. This work provides a new perspective on the dynamic operation of cylindrical packed-bed sensible thermal energy storage systems, offering a simple yet effective strategy to enhance system performance.