Application of Silicone Materials in Solar Power Generation


2. Silicone Material Used in Solar Photothermal Power Generation System


Silicone materials for special applications in solar photothermal power generation systems are illustrated as follows:


High temperature heat transfer medium silicone oil for solar photothermal power generation system


In order to improve the efficiency of power generation, the working temperature of heat transfer medium in solar photothermal power generation system is as high as 400 C. Universal heat conducting oil can not meet the requirements of safe working temperature, and the heat resistance of heat conducting oil will be reduced due to the breakage of mechanical shear molecule chain in long-term pumping operation. Silicone oil with semi-inorganic and semi-organic macromolecule structure has excellent heat resistance and shear resistance of polymer molecule. It can act as heat transfer medium for photothermal power generation. Benzyl methyl silicone oil with special structure has not only excellent heat resistance and shear resistance, but also outstanding heat resistance and oxidation resistance. At the same time, heat stabilizers and other additives were introduced to further improve the thermal stability of silicone oil. The application of phenylmethyl silicone oil as an efficient heat transfer medium can ensure the long-term stable operation of photothermal power generation system.


Heat-resistant and Weatherproof Silicone Coatings for Solar Photothermal Power Generation Structures


In order to expose to strong light for a long time and work in high temperature environment, the structures of solar photothermal power generation must be coated with high heat resistance and weatherproof coatings. Universal heat-resistant and weatherproof coatings are difficult to meet the harsh requirements of photothermal power generation. Methyl phenyl silicone resin has excellent heat resistance and weathering resistance. Silicone coatings based on silicone resin can be used as protective coatings for photothermal power generation structures.


The key to the research and development of heat-resistant and weather-resistant protective coatings for photothermal power generation structures is to synthesize highly curable organic silicone resins. Because the general-purpose methyl phenyl silicone resin generally has some defects, such as low curing activity, low adhesion strength of cured paint film and base material, and easy re-adhesion of cured paint film, the coatings made from general-purpose silicone resin can not fully meet the matching needs of photothermal power generation. The highly curable active silicone resin synthesized by nucleophilic reaction catalyst can not only catalyze cross-linking and curing at room temperature, but also firmly bond the cured film to the base material, and the cured film will never return to adhesion. The high heat-resistant and weatherproof silicone coatings based on highly curable active silicone resin can be used as excellent coatings and protective coatings for building structures such as photothermal power generation towers.


Organosilicon material for forming Fresnel lens for solar photothermal power generation


The solar photothermal power generation system with Fresnel lens as the concentrator has emerged.


With the special structure of Fresnel lens, a group of flat mirrors instead of parabolic curved mirrors can achieve high-efficiency focusing of sunlight. Fresnel lens is easy to fabricate and stable to operate. Therefore, photothermal power generation in Fresnel system has attracted wide attention.


Although a variety of transparent materials can be used to manufacture Fresnel lenses, high transparent silicone rubber has obvious advantages compared with other factors such as forming process, weight of parts, dimensional stability of parts, weatherability and heat resistance of materials. Especially, the reactive vulcanized liquid silicone rubber is used as the basic material of Fresnel lens for photothermal power generation. Because of its simple forming process, light weight, stable performance and weather aging resistance, the silicone rubber lens will ensure that the Fresnel system's focusing efficiency is improved and its long-term operation is stable and reliable.


3. Requirements of Silicone Material for Solar Power Generation


Although most organosilicon materials have basic properties suitable for solar power generation, not all of the existing universal organosilicon products can be directly applied to solar power generation devices. Most components of solar power generation must work in outdoor natural environment for a long time. In order to ensure the normal use of components in outdoor conditions for more than 20-25 years, the matching materials must be fully matched with the components. In order to complete the matching application, it is necessary to carry out special research and development according to the specific technical requirements of solar power generation, focus on solving the important technical key, and check and optimize through simulation application test, in order to test the technological performance and service performance of the developed products. Defects and deficiencies were found through test and simulation application test, and targeted research and improvement was carried out to ensure that the developed products fully meet the requirements of solar power generation. (Author: Mr. Jiang Chengyong, please indicate the author and source for reprinting)