Volcanic eruptions tend to be disastrous, covering areas in layers of ash and throwing everyday life into chaos. But new research from a team at the University of Barcelona has shown that this byproduct of nature may be the key to altering how we store solar energy. As the world is increasingly focused on renewable energy, the potential of volcanic ash as an inexpensive as well a sustainable means of transforming energy use has been discovered.
Volcanic ash may be the surprising answer for storing solar energy
Energy storage plays a vital role in renewable energy transition, facilitating the use of excess energy produced during peak generation periods when the need for energy increases. Concentrating solar power (CSP) plants are one such type of technology that hinges on effective thermal storage.
CSP plants traditionally use molten salts to store excess energy in the form of heat until it is converted into electricity. But molten salts have their disadvantages: they are corrosive, costly to make and solidify easily at reduced temperatures. This is where volcanic ash plays a crucial role. Researchers tested samples from the 2021 La Palma eruption and discovered its outstanding thermal conductivity, stability, as well as its heat capacity.
They found that if they can stack volcanic ash, which does not chemically react when you heat it, with something like iron oxide and then heat and cool it several thousands of times between 250 and 750°C, they might have a heat storage material that is both chemically resilient as well as coiled to store and release heat. These benefits could lead volcanic ash to replace molten salts, as a CSP energy storage medium that could be cheaper and more robust than those used today.
The role of volcanic ash in CSP energy systems
Outside of functioning as standalone thermal storage means, volcanic ash can be used as an additive in existing molten salt systems. Researchers found that mixing volcanic ash with molten salts both diminished the corrosive effects of the salts and prevented premature solidification.
This combination enables CSP plants to function as optimally as possible and to lengthen the lifetime of their storage tanks and machinery. Moreover, volcanic ash can be a direct heat absorber, thus doing away with the need for standard storage tanks.
CSP plants might focus sunshine on structures made from volcanic ash (like these rocks that are only produced by volcanoes), removing the need for costly molten salts and allowing for tiered peak temperature energy storage. Researchers say that these findings indicate that volcanic ash has the potential “to help enhance technological competitiveness” of CSP through lower operational costs and reduced environmental footprint.
Volcanic ash: A cheap solution to the energy storage problem
Volcanic ash has the potential to provide a solution to the urgent need for large-scale, efficient energy storage solutions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) states that global energy storage capacity, spurred by the integration of intermittent renewable energy, such as solar as well as wind, is expected to surge past 270GW in less than 3 years.
The Group of Seven (G7) nations also recently pledged to increase energy storage to 1,500GW by 2030, highlighting how pressing the need for a reliable, affordable energy storage solution has become. Volcanic ash presents a sustainable as well as environmentally friendly solution to the growing challenges associated with CSP technology.
Due to its abundance, cost-effectiveness, and thermal stability, it is suggested as a potential candidate for large-scale energy storage applications. Such re-purposing of volcanic ash not only minimizes the environmental effect of eruptions but aerates the costly and harmful storage materials.
Volcanic-ally storing thermal energy may be the new trend in renewables. Its ability to offer an affordable, sustainable alternative to molten salts could redefine what CSP plants, and by extension energy storage systems, look like around the world.
The potential of this natural resource in combating climate change lies in its ongoing advancements, as researchers work on discovering its various applications, making it an invaluable asset that could pave the way for a cleaner and more efficient energy future (like America’s volcano country which has awakened).
