Preparation and thermal properties of quaternary mixed nitrate with low melting point

Mixed molten salt is considered as a promising medium for both heat transfer and energy storage in solar thermal power because of its many advantages such as large heat capacity, low vapor pressure, low cost, wide range of temperature in application, etc. In order to obtain molten salt with lower melting point and higher decomposition temperature, a new kind of nitrate was prepared based on different mixing ratios of KNO3-NaNO3-LiNO3-Ca(NO3)(2)center dot 4H(2)O. Experimental results show that the melting point of some molten salts can be down to below 90 degrees C with their decomposition temperature above 600 degrees C. The new kind of mixed molten salts has a lower melting point and wider usable temperature range. In addition, other thermal properties such as latent heat of melting, specific heat, density, viscosity, thermal conductivity and thermal stability are measured and analyzed, which are also not worse than that of commonly used mixed molten salt. Therefore, it is a promising medium for both heat transfer and energy storage in solar thermal power plants. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.