To make solar power viable, we need a solution for overnight energy storage.

Batteries are complicated.

Do you know what isn't? Water go up. stonks-up

  • Sausage
    ·
    2 months ago

    Isn’t the salt very corrosive?

    • ReallyZen@lemmy.ml
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      Well, it's in a tank. Atop a 250m high tower. Smack in the centre of a ring of mirrors focusing all their heat on it. Liquified to generate steam.

      I think the "corrosive" part is the least of the issues here.

      • Sausage
        ·
        2 months ago

        Just something I’ve heard from some people about molten salt.

      • Sausage
        ·
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        Lol

        Edit:

        Noor III suffered a molten salt leak in 2024, causing a loss of $47m.[28]

          • Sausage
            ·
            2 months ago

            I guess cleaning up after a huge salt spill isn’t its also probably terrible for the ground when it leaks. From reading Wikipedia it also uses an obscene amount of fresh water.

              • Sausage
                ·
                2 months ago

                I mean it also contains salt ;) as I said salt is corrosive sea water has 35 parts per thousand of salt in it and look how corrosive that is. Here we are talking about hot molten salt…

      • Sausage
        ·
        2 months ago

        Cool good to know, but why do they need to keep cleaning the pipes?

        • Collatz_problem [comrade/them]
          ·
          2 months ago

          Some of molten salt crystallizes on pipe walls, because they are colder, and it makes the pipe narrower.

      • Sausage
        ·
        2 months ago

        https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030645492100801X

        Just from reading here a bit there seems to be some corrosion though. My chemistry is to shit atm to understand it though

        • Collatz_problem [comrade/them]
          ·
          2 months ago

          making it necessary to mitigate corrosion by either purifying the salt, controlling its redox potential in a reducing state, or using redox buffers

          The salt is not pure enough, it seems.