Concentrated Solar Power Plant Absorber Coatings

Dear Colleagues,

Tower-technology-based concentrated solar power (CSP) promises to deliver electricity prices below 7.3 ¢ per kW h based on thermal energy storage and future renewable-energy harvesting technology. However, the energy price depends very much on the energy-transformation efficiency, where absorber coatings play a crucial role. CSP technology requires materials that can endure high operating temperatures in air, thermal shocks, oxidative and corrosive environment, and abrasion during their lifetime.

For a central receiver system, concentrated solar radiation is directed at a central absorber, with the concentration factor reaching as high as 1000 suns; therefore, receiver peak temperatures are expected to approach 800 °C. As temperatures are raised, heat loss to re-radiation strongly impacts plant efficiency. This phenomenon can be bridged through the development of selective coatings, resulting in low thermal emission.

The manufacture, design, and test of high-performance absorber materials that possess high solar absorptivity, low thermal emissivity, durability, longievity, and are capable of serving as physical protection layers for underlaying alloy material at 800 °C in air atmosphere are opportunites for coating development.

This Special Issue of Coatings is intended to provide a forum for original research articles as well as critical reviews on current advances in the field of absorber coatings for CSP technologies.

Areas of interest include but are not limited to:

• High solar absorptivity absorber coatigs for central tower technologies;
• Theoretical and experimental research, knowledge and new ideas in the fields of pigments, binders, additives, application technique, curing, re-coating, evaluation under working conditions, environmental impact, etc.;
• Understanding the degradation mechanisms of coatings reflected through optical properties, thermal conductivity, thermal load, etc.;
• Latest development of test methods considering optical, mechanical, and thermal properties and the ability to test and predict properties by computer modeling or simulation after diferent loads equivalent to service environment;
• Multilayered coatings, ceramic materials, diffusion, and protection layers.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Ivan Jerman
Prof. Dr. Franci Merzel
Guest Editors

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• High solar absorptivity coatings
• Concentrated solar power
• Longevity
• Performance modeling