Solar Energy Cycle Using Magnesium and Laser Technologies Invited Lectures on Magnesium energy cycle driven by solar

energy Elemental technologies constituting the cycle Solar pumped laser MgO reduction Mg combustion/battery
2012.11.19 & 12.10 Given by Shigeaki Uchida / Global Solar Initiative (GS+I), The University of Tokyo also at Pegasos Electra Co. Ltd.
3

The University of Tokyo

Definition of the problem

Solar power (radiation) is the ultimate renewable energy source However Localized in time and location Mismatching between supply and demand Need means of convenient storage Mg is a promising candidate for the storing material
Mg

The University of Tokyo

Abundant solar power on the earth

Solar Radiation 1kW/m21 km2A thermal power station

6 km2 2 Sahara desert8.6106 6 km2 2 Gobi desert1.3106 World annual energy demand: 1.21014 kWh 2000s =32,000 km2 of Solar energy 200200 km desert equivalent

Assume annual hours of sunshine3,000 hour/year Issues to be Considered

Typical sunshine hours in Japan: Four hours Need energy storing means for the rest of 20 hours Need transportation from the Sun Belt Region Construction cost & Energy Payback Time of those infrastructure
The University of Tokyo 5

More than 10 hours of sunshine is expected in desert area

The University of Tokyo

Energy production and power control from Mg combustion

Mg + H 2 O H 2 + MgO +361 kJ/650

1 H 2 + O 2 H 2 O +244 kJ/600 2

kJ/mol

Easily generates steam at a few hundreds degree

Controlling Reaction Speed and Power

Slow Reaction (no H2 combustion)

H2 (fuel cell) and reaction heat generation

Rapid Reaction (with H2 combustion)

H2 combustion Power, Turbine
A similar energy output is expected from Mg-Air battery
The University of Tokyo 7

Magnesium as energy storage

Abundance of Magnesium 1.2x1015 ton Mg in sea water Fossil fuel consumption: 7 x109 ton/year <= This is the amount we need for the cycle Specific energy (J/kg*) comparable to coal 25 MJ/kg (Jet fuel: 43 MJ/kg, Coal: 30 MJ/kg) Energy density (compact) 43 GJ/m3 4.3 GJ/m3 (H2 at 700 atm) Hydrogen storage (equivalent) 8.3 wt% 5-10 wt% (H2 tank for 350 atm) Versatility in power generation 1 kW (2.5g/min, 20X40X0.3mm) ~ >MW/kgMg range (flaked Mg) Retrieval combustion residue, solid MgO (compared to CO2) Convenience Bulk Mg is nonflammable (Need >650for ignition ) Self running reaction (Exothermic reaction controlled by water flow) Can be used as a battery fuel, Mg-Air battery Technology to be developed Energy efficient reduction of MgO Solar driven laser technology for the reduction
* Oxidizer is not included

The University of Tokyo

Renewable Energy Cycle with Mg and Solar Pumped Laser

Mg MgEngine Engine H Fuel Cell 2 Fuel H Cell 2 Mg Fuel Cell Mg Fuel Cell

Mg MgReduction Reduction by Solar by SolarLaser Laser

MgO
Retrieve

Conversion efficiency 30-40%

Reuse
Reduction efficiency 40-50%

Mg Mg
Desalination Plant

Laser Cutting, Welding Laser Cutting, Welding Refinement Refinement (Fe, Al, Mg, Ti ) (Fe, Al, Mg, Ti ) Chemical Assistant Chemical Assistant Laser-related Laser-related Manufacture Manufacture

Mg resource in ocean 1800 Trillion-tons (=300,000 years of oil)

The University of Tokyo

Fresh Water 9

Temperature for spontaneous MgO reduction

Tokyo Inst. of Technology
40

Gibbs Free Energy for MgO Formation

MgO reduction takes place

20

Change of Gibbs Free Energy of a Reaction

2

Change of Gibbs Free Energy [kJ/mol]

2MgO 2Mg + O 0 2Mg + O 2 2MgO

G = H TS If the change is negative, the reaction is spontaneous H: Enthalpy T: Temperature

-20

-40
Mg oxidization takes place

-60

S: Entropy Equilibrium constant

-80

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

MgO Temperature [K]

The University of Tokyo
Mg, MgO MgOReductionAnalysis.xls

G K = exp RT
10

Maximum Energy Storage Efficiency through MgO Reduction Thermo Chemical Evaluation
E [kJ/mol] 478 Mg(g)(4000K) +O(g)(4000K)

288 Endothermic 191 152 39 0

O(g)(4000K)
Dissociation

Mg(g)(4000K) Heating Mg(g)(923K) HeatingVaporization 1/2O2(g)(4000K)

273K1/2273K
Heating

Exothermic

Maximum Possible

Energy Efficiency

602 56 602 + 478

-601.8
The University of Tokyo

MgO(s)
MgO,Mg&H2O&H2.cvx

11

Power Balance of MgO Vaporization

Laser, Ilaser

Vaporization, Ivap

Radiation Loss, Irad

MgO Heated region

Heat Conduction, Icond

The

Laser Irradiation Power = 1 kW cw Spot = 1 mm = 10.6 m

Ilaser(105W/cm2)Ivap(105W/cm2) + Irad (2103W/cm2) + Icond(103W/cm2)

Ivap includes heat capacity 0.9 J/Kg, melting(1.9kJ/g), vaporization(8.2kJ.g), and dissociation 9.2 kJ/g energies of MgO. Heat conduction measured. Vaporization rate0.05 g/sis measured Solar radiation concentration limit, 103 W/cm2 Laser intensity will be required to maintain MgO reduction > 100Natural Sun Power Power Conversion rather than Beam Quality 12 University of Tokyo

Why Solar Pumped Laser?

Laser technology gives solutions to overcome two major obstacles in utilizing solar light energy Auto-reduction of MgO with 4000-K high temperature
Advantage over conventional Mg metallurgy processes

Power concentration is as many orders of magnitude larger than the natural sun light
Advantage over a huge heliostat facility

Only laser can provide the power density needed for the spontaneous MgO reduction

The University of Tokyo

13

A huge facility is needed for direct sun light application to high temperature

Solar power engine in Font Romeu France National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA 3000-K solar furnace requires a 50-m solar concentrator array
14

The University of Tokyo

Laser can be very compact

4-kW output power can be delivered from this compact laser head

The laser above can heat magnesia to 4000 K Radiance or Brightness characterizes the power density and compactness of a light source in W/cm2 sr Laser vs. Solar = 1014 : 107 , in W/m2 sr
15

The University of Tokyo

Light Beam Quality ~Focusable Power Density

Coherent and Incoherent Light source

Beam divergence : 1 mrad (diffraction limitted)

3.81026 W

>1 kW 1.4109 m Coherent Light Source; Laser Medium (such as optical fiber laser) Concentrator (Very tiny angle) Incoherent light source The Sun

Etendue, an optical invariant: The smaller, the better (Light source size)(Solid angle of light flux)

10-3 m 10-3 rad = 10-6 mrad

The University of Tokyo

10-2 m 0.05 rad ~ 10-3 mrad

16

Why Laser? Why not Sun?

Natural Limit of Sun Light Intensity
Distance to the Sun (1.51011 m) Focal Length of the Sun Collector (L m)

6.96108 m

6.96108 m

L 1.501011m

Sun

Alens
Sun Collector (Fresnel Lens)

Aspot
Laser Pumping Aperture ~Size of Laser Medium
2

Focused intensity, Ispot is determined by F number alone

I spot

Lsun 2 Dsun Alens I 0 Dlens L2 = = I = I 0 n2 I 0 2 0 2 Aspot F L L D Dsun L lens sun

I0Solar intensity on the ground0.1 [W/cm2] LnSun-earth distance normalized by sun diamer100 number1Ispot 10,000I0 1000 W/cm2 Two orders of magnitude less than required for MgO reduction

The University of Tokyo

17

Laser is an essential tool for the Mg-Solar Energy CycleSummary

Renewable energy cycle needs a good energy storing material Mg is a promising material Use chemical potential change between Mg and MgO Energy charging process, MgO reduction needs 4000 K Direct solar power cannot sustain the temperature Laser technology provides compact and efficient solution

The University of Tokyo

18

Solar Energy Cycle Using Magnesium and Laser Technologies Topical Lectures on Magnesium energy cycle driven by solar energy Elemental technologies constituting the cycle Solar pumped laser Mg combustion MgO reduction
2012.11.19 & 12.10 at Tokyo University Given by Shigeaki Uchida / Global Solar Initiative (GS+I), The University of Tokyo also at Pegasos Electra Co. Ltd.
3

The University of Tokyo

Solar Pumped Laser

Mechanism of Converting Solar Light to Laser Radiation = Four Level Laser Model Design Principle of Solid State Laser = Thermal Analysis

The University of Tokyo

36

Basic Components of Solar Pumped Laser

Solar pumped lasers use sun light to directly pump (activate or excite) laser media and convert it to coherent laser radiation

Sun

Sun light Light collector

Laser medium Laser

The University of Tokyo 38

Why Laser? Why not Sun?

Natural Limit of Sun Light Intensity
Distance to the Sun (1.51011 m) Focal Length of the Sun Collector (L m)

6.96108 m

6.96108 m

L 1.501011m

Sun

Alens
Sun Collector (Fresnel Lens)

Aspot
Laser Pumping Aperture ~Size of Laser Medium
2

Focused intensity, Ispot is determined by F number alone

I spot

Lsun 2 Dsun Alens I 0 Dlens L2 = = I = I 0 n2 I 0 2 0 2 Aspot F L L D Dsun L lens sun

I0Solar intensity on the ground0.1 [W/cm2] LnSun-earth distance normalized by sun diameter100 number1Ispot 10,000I0 1000 W/cm2 Two orders of magnitude less than required for MgO reduction

The University of Tokyo

37

Basic Elements of Solar Laser

Fresnel lens
Laser Oscillator

Solar radiation

Laser
39

The University of Tokyo

Laser Devise : solar pumped laser Cr:Nd:YAG ~Economical and efficient Concept

Cr + Nd absorption
2

Absorption coefficient (cm-1) (/cm)

Negligible amount of resource for laser material Water for power concentration and cooling low manufacturing cost

1.5 1 0.5 0 400

Solar spectrum Nd absorption

500

The University of Tokyo

Wave

600 (nm) length

700

800
40

(nm)

Qualitative description of laser Oscillation ~Spontaneous & Stimulated

The University of Tokyo

41

Four-Energy-Level Model of Nd Ion

Most important: To form a population inversion between the upper and lower laser level Population inversion: status that upper level has more ions than the lower level against the thermal equilibrium condition
42

The University of Tokyo

Four Level Laser Equations

The equations deal with the number densities of population inversion, N2 and laser photon,
dN 2 N = R p BN 2 2 dt
Population inversion, N2 is added the pumping and reduced by both stimulated and spontaneous emission
Pumping Nd:YAG Upper level

d 1 = BVa N 2 dt c
Laser photons are generated from stimulated emission and lost through the output mirror

HR mirror

Output mirror

Lower level Stimulated Emission (Laser Photon) Spontaneous Emission (Power Loss)

At oscillation condition, steady state is realized, i.e. d/dt = 0

The University of Tokyo 43

Laser Power as a Function of Pumping Power in Oscillation Condition

Expression for Laser Power The Expression Includes Two Laser Oscillation Characteristics; Slope Efficiency Threshold

Pout = = =

( f + 1) a ch fT Va R p T l med fT + 1 A 1+ 1

hVa c R p l 2 Le med

2c

fT

( f T + 1) s V P photon a
Threshold

Le c c

fT

Photon Lifetime in Cavity Cavity Loss

Slope Efficiency

Solar Power (Input)

2
2

+ a ( fT + 1) a

2 2 a

Ratio of Output Coupling to Medium Loss Gain cross section

Va lefct Amed Mode Volume=Gain length

The University of Tokyo 44

Axial Pumping Configuration

Axial pumping configuration with tapered light cavity has been designed for efficient solar power concentration
The University of Tokyo 45

Model Calculation Well Reproduces Experimental Results

80 70

Experiments

Laser Output [W]

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 800

Both Slope Efficiency and Threshold are well reproduced by theoretical model

Calculation

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000
46

Solar Input [W] [W]

The University of Tokyo

Limit on Laser Media Thickness

Thermal shock limit Laser medium (volume V)

PumpPpump

t
Waste heatQthV

Laser radiationPlaser Qth [W/m3] Waste heat

Fshape RT Qth

FshapeShape factor128/slabrod RT[W/m]Thermal shock parameter700/YAG t[m]Medium dimension along temperature gradient SSafe factor0.10.3
47

The University of Tokyo

Medium thickness dependence of Laser Power

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 600 800 39 35

Also medium broke

9

World Record of Solar Pumped Laser

100

Thicker media are preferable but

1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 Input Solar Power [W]
48

The University of Tokyo

The highest power recorded corresponds to the thermal limit of the rod medium 80 W is close to the highest power that the 9 medium can accommodate

Qth =

Fshape RT t
2

Measured medium effective (activated) volume, V Extraction efficiency, (Model Calculation) Maximum output power would be

I max

QthV = = 90W 1 1

The University of Tokyo

49

About one-third of the rod is effectively pumped

The broken rod

140 120 100 80 60 40 20

20

40 60 Position [mm]

80

100
50

The University of Tokyo

Another highest TAP has been achieved

Total Area Performance

Laser output[W] Collector area [m2]

Current performance: 30% absorption Limited by thermal load =>More and distributed absorption
Set in March 07

Reflects the future plant cost effectiveness

Laser Output Collector Size TAP [W/m2] [m2] [W]
1.M.Weksler,at al

IEEE J, QE, 1988

2. V.Krupkin,.at al

60 500 46 24.4 80

38.5 660 6.85 1.47 4.0

1.55 0.76 6.7 16.6 20.0

Proc.SPIE, 1993
3. M.Landoat al

Optics Communication, 2003

4. Our Study, Yabe Lab Tokyo Inst of Tech, Okamoto Opt 5. Our Study, Yabe Lab Tokyo Inst of Tech, Okamoto Opt

New!
51

The University of Tokyo

Another possibility
Slab type laser media

Laser oscillation

Solar power

Design laser media that absorbs pumping power through its wide area Principle of design Achieve high absorption while avoiding thermal fracture

The University of Tokyo

52

Thickness and number of media depend on pumping power Stacked laser media for the areal pump power absorption scheme

Large pump power Small pump power

More media Less media Thick With reflection Thin

More media Thin

The University of Tokyo 53

90% absorption for whole laser media system

1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.5
The University of Tokyo

No reflection
Blue: 200 W/cm 2 , Red : 400 W/cm 2

10

Thickness
6

Number of Media
2

0.6

0.7 0.8 Absorption

0.9

1
Thickness&Number.qpc

54

Six media thinner than 1cm

2.5
Blue: without reflection Red : with reflection

10 9 8 Number 7 6 5

2.0

1.5

More than 1500 W is absorbed in the stacked media 1 kW laser output can be expected

1.0 Thickness 0.5 50 100

4 3

2 150 200 250 300 350 400 [W/cm2] Pumping power [W]
Thickness&Numbre-Pump

Current performance
The University of Tokyo 55

Prototype of half-pipe solar tracking system

Slave Lens1 Lens2

Master (active tracker)

Laser2

Laser1

Master-Slave Sun Tracking System has been tested Driving power 30W (to be 1% of laser output)

The University of Tokyo

56

Preliminary device for slab medium

Cu holder

Window
Solar light

Laser medium Radiator

The University of Tokyo

57

Goal of the R&D

To MgO reduction plant

Conversion efficiency 30-40%

Solar Laser Array

The University of Tokyo

58

680-ton Mg production /day /2.5km2

The University of Tokyo

59