STORING SUN IN UAE DESERT SAND

Desert sand from UAE efficiently stores thermal energy; Sand's quartz and carbonate particles are able to efficiently absorb and store thermal energy.

Brooks Hays, January 7, 2016 (United Press International)

“…Testing shows desert sand from UAE can withstand temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, making it an ideal solar energy storage material [according to researchers at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in United Arab Emirates]…Most solar energy technologies use photovoltaics, specially layered semiconducting materials that convert sunlight directly into electric current -- no sand necessary…Another option is a technology called concentrated solar power, or CSP, which uses an array of mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a single point where thermal energy is stored and converted into electricity. CSP storage structures often take the form of a tall tower…[The research] suggests desert sand could serve an ideal material for CSP technologies -- its quartz and carbonate particles are able to efficiently absorb and store thermal energy….[and it is] readily available…” click here for more

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