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El Paso Solar Pond Test Project. Phase 1 Final Report October 1, 1985-March 31, 1987.

PB2005105185

Publication Date	1992
Personal Author	Reid, R. L.; Swift, A. H. P.; Sewell, M. P.; Liao, Y.; Knudsen, J. D.
Page Count	158
Abstract	The University of Texas at El Paso is conducting a solar pond research project for the Bureau of Reclamation. This report details the results of the project for the period October 1985 through March 1987. During the initial stages of the project from July 1983 through September 1985, a 3355 sq. m. water storage pond in E1Paso, Texas was converted to a salt gradient solar pond. This involved draining the pond, constructing two 400-ms evaporation ponds, installing an XR-5 liner over the existing hypalon liner, obtaining raw salt from New Mexico, installing an instrumentation tower, designing and installing a brine extraction system, dissolving the salt, and establishing a salinity gradient. In late spring 1985 the first gradient was established. During the summer of 1985 the solar pond reached 72 degrees C, and process heat was extracted for the first time. However, in August 1985, instabilities developed and the pond cooled to 49 degrees C by September 30, 1985. The inability to reach and maintain higher temperatures in the pond is now thought to have resulted from several factors. These factors include (1) too thick an upper convective zone (UCZ); (2) too high a salinity in the UCZ (8% salt by weight), (3) too low a salinity in the lower convective zone (LCZ) (20% salt); and (4) too weak a salinity gradient at the upper part of the NCZ.
Keywords	Solar ponds Salinity measurements Temperature measurements Maintenance Construction Gradient modifications Stability monitoring Heat extraction Injection analysis Water quality Salt gradient solar pond El Paso(Texas)
Source Agency	Bureau of Reclamation
Corporate Authors	Texas Univ. at El Paso. Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.; Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. Research Office.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. Research Office.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200517

El Paso Solar Pond Test Project. Phase 1 Final Report October 1, 1985-March 31, 1987.

El Paso Solar Pond Test Project. Phase 1 Final Report October 1, 1985-March 31, 1987.
PB2005105185

Publication Date	1992
Personal Author	Reid, R. L.; Swift, A. H. P.; Sewell, M. P.; Liao, Y.; Knudsen, J. D.
Page Count	158
Abstract	The University of Texas at El Paso is conducting a solar pond research project for the Bureau of Reclamation. This report details the results of the project for the period October 1985 through March 1987. During the initial stages of the project from July 1983 through September 1985, a 3355 sq. m. water storage pond in E1Paso, Texas was converted to a salt gradient solar pond. This involved draining the pond, constructing two 400-ms evaporation ponds, installing an XR-5 liner over the existing hypalon liner, obtaining raw salt from New Mexico, installing an instrumentation tower, designing and installing a brine extraction system, dissolving the salt, and establishing a salinity gradient. In late spring 1985 the first gradient was established. During the summer of 1985 the solar pond reached 72 degrees C, and process heat was extracted for the first time. However, in August 1985, instabilities developed and the pond cooled to 49 degrees C by September 30, 1985. The inability to reach and maintain higher temperatures in the pond is now thought to have resulted from several factors. These factors include (1) too thick an upper convective zone (UCZ); (2) too high a salinity in the UCZ (8% salt by weight), (3) too low a salinity in the lower convective zone (LCZ) (20% salt); and (4) too weak a salinity gradient at the upper part of the NCZ.
Keywords	Solar ponds Salinity measurements Temperature measurements Maintenance Construction Gradient modifications Stability monitoring Heat extraction Injection analysis Water quality Salt gradient solar pond El Paso(Texas)
Source Agency	Bureau of Reclamation
Corporate Authors	Texas Univ. at El Paso. Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.; Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. Research Office.
Supplemental Notes	Sponsored by Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO. Research Office.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200517