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#101 2023-04-19 13:37:02

kbd512
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Registered: 2015-01-02
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Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

SpaceNut,

It would make more sense to use oil instead of water in places with extremely cold temperatures, or to use gases that don't freeze, such as air without humidity / pure Nitrogen / CO2.

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#102 2023-04-19 21:17:34

SpaceNut
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Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,750

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

The oil would go to a heat exchanger for home use heating to keep oil quantity as low as possible. I seem to remember that oil circulates through a heat exchanger, turning a refrigerant into steam, which drives a turbine that, in turn, drives a generator. Here it is...How To Build a Solar Generator, Affordable solar power using auto parts could make this electricity source far more available.

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#103 2023-04-23 13:47:31

SpaceNut
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From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,750

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

Heat engines and how to make use of temperature difference to achieve the goal.
4de213ad34c355197c666cc33e780c8a11f097fe

The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) converts thermal energy into electricity.how-it-works.svg

https://www.geothermal-energy.org/pdf/I … _Final.pdf
DESIGN AND BUILD OF A 1 KILOWATT ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE POWER GENERATOR

https://www.popularmechanics.com/scienc … 0/4232571/

A group of recent graduates and grad students from MIT is reconfiguring parts from old cars to create a simple turbine that runs on the heat of the sun instead of the oil drum. They hope to make it available in off-the-grid regions such as remote parts of the African country of Lesotho--where they recently completed a prototype (pictured above)--as a clean, inexpensive source of electricity, hot water and even refrigeration. The team was co-founded by former Peace Corps volunteer Matt Orosz, who was inspired by a locally made parabolic solar bread cooker during his stint in the country.

The solar turbine has three main parts: an array of shiny parabolic troughs that track the sun, an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) engine and an electrical control system. Rather than converting light to electricity using photovoltaics, this system employs solar heat: The four large troughs focus sunlight onto a continuous loop of pipes. Circulating through the pipes is a thermal absorption fluid, such as glycol, the anti-freeze fluid used in car radiators. Reaching temperatures up to 300 degrees F, the glycol passes through a heat exchanger, where it transfers its heat to a working fluid--a refrigerant, such as the R134 found in a car's air conditioner--which vaporizes and spins turbines in the ORC. The turbines generate enough juice (about 1000 watts) to charge a bank of batteries, while the excess steam heats water for domestic use. Add an absorption chiller, and you've got refrigeration as well, rounding out the typical range of energy needs: heating, cooling and electricity.

They kept prices low by using junk auto parts. The ORC's turbines are made from a salvaged turbo charger, which is coupled to an alternator to create electricity.

Organic Rankine cycle engines are not new. In large power plants, they're currently used to convert energy from low-grade, second-stage steam heat. And some very large solar-thermal power plants rely on ORCs, including the recently completed Nevada One, capable of generating 64 mW of power (enough for 40,000 homes). The Solar Turbine Group (STG) is taking an entirely different approach, scaling its equipment way down so that it can be installed in remote locations. Orosz and three partners recently spent a year in the Lesotho mountains working with locals to install a prototype solar turbine at a remote girls' school.

https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/servlets/purl/894040

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#104 2023-05-31 20:05:52

SpaceNut
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Posts: 28,750

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

Here are the 4 troughs that create 10kw hot water and 1 kw of power with crude auto parts.

200908311112324199_0.jpg?itok=hmHFySQn

Here is another view of the troughs collecting heat energy
200908311113506346_0.jpg?itok=HZAUSjaB

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#105 2024-01-30 09:00:40

Calliban
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From: Northern England, UK
Registered: 2019-08-18
Posts: 3,352

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

I wonder if building these devices could be made easier by eliminating electronic control systems that track the sun?  For a large plant, a human operator can adjust reflector angle manually.  All of the mirrors could be simulateously adjusted using a chain link.

The use of organic fluids within the power cycle has the advantage that a fluid like butane has high molecular weight and high gas phase density.  This allows the turbine to be more compact, which improves power density.  The use of oil as the primary heat transfer fluid is difficult to get away from because of the overwhelming advantages it offers as a coolant.  It is non-corrosive and has low vapour pressure even at temperatures exceeding 300°C.  The low vapour pressure means that trough tubes don't need to be pressurised.  The only other cooling fluid candidates that meet those requirement are liquid metals like sodium.  Sodium doesn't boil until 800°C, so a sodium cooled trough collector could operate at much higher temperature than oil.  But sodium leaks would be dangerous, as liquid sodium burns spontaneously in air.  Then again, there is a high chance that oil leaks would ignite in air at 400°C.

Liquid sodium operating at temperatures of 550°C, would generate much higher quality steam.  This is important, because it increases the pressure ratio and power density of the turbine in addition to improving the amount of electric power yielded per square metre of reflector area, as generating efficiency increases.  This would improve the economics of the system, as improved efficiency increases the whole system power density.  But dealing with safety issues of hot sodium would impose its own set of costs.  Swings and roundabouts.

Low temperature systems (<200°C) could generate power through direct cycles.  By this we mean the trough tubes containing pressurised water rather than oil.  Hot water would flow into a steam seperator.  This type of system would work best in combined heat and power mode, as efficiency would be low.  Economic performance depends upon putting the waste heat to work.  This sort of system might be useful for supporting district heating schemes in Europe.  For much of the year, sunlight is too weak to be put to work generating steam.  But warm water, in the 30 - 100°C range, would be valuable for district heating.

Last edited by Calliban (2024-01-30 09:12:21)


"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

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#106 2024-01-30 13:12:29

tahanson43206
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Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

For Calliban re human attention to equipment ....

I am reminded of a video about English history.  There are still huge fire places in (some) English castles, equipped with metal beams upon which giant roasts were mounted for slow cooking over a timber fire.  A surf (probably a younger person) was assigned the duty of turning the spit slowly, from a position off to the side but never-the-less plenty close to the fire.

That person had a mind numbing job.  The chief cook used a human for what a simple control circuit could do, because the chief cook had the surf available (a) and (b) because this was a time when such automation was out of the question.

I would invite you to consider the duty your vision would impose upon some hapless human being, if the society you are thinking about has descended so far into the abyss.

All those troughs could be chained together, and turned from a single crank.  A simple water wheel could turn the crank, if the society you are considering still has enough wits to make one.

(th)

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#107 2024-02-07 09:01:31

Calliban
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From: Northern England, UK
Registered: 2019-08-18
Posts: 3,352

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

On Mars, solar thermal power generation and production of synthetic fuels has some advantages over an Earth based operation.  Sunlight intensity is only half that of Earth, but the atmosphere is so thin that there is far less cloud cover.  It is mostly sunny, outside of dust storms.

The thin, dry, CO2-dominated atmosphere has some advantages as well.  Steel structures will not corrode, provided we keep them away from brine in the soil.  The cold is a problem for carbon steels, but they may still be acceptable in low stress situations.  On Mars, we can use liquid sodium as the heat transfer fluid within the trough collectors.  If we do get a sodium leak on Mars, it will do little more than smolder in the thin CO2 atmosphere.  Using sodium allows coolant temperatures exceeding 550°C.  This allows superheated steam to be raised or even an S-CO2 cycle to be used on the power generation side.  This allows power to be generated at 40% efficiency, rather than the 20-30% that we are stuck with using oil as our primary coolant and saturated steam power cycles.  So this partially compensates for lower sunlight intensity.  The low atmospheric density would make it easier to engineer structures against wind loading.

On Earth, if we want CO2 to make fuel, we must extract it from air or seawater.  The second option is better, because CO2 is more soluble than other atmospheric gases.  But the CO2 still needs to be seperated from other gases.  On Mars, the atmosphere is 95% CO2.  And it is cold enough to compress it down to liquid, probably without intercooling.  An axial compressor could produce a steady stream of liquid CO2.  So solar synfuel production may be simpler on Mars.

Using point focus collectors, it is possible to generate heat at high enough temperature for thermochemical hydrogen production.  This is potentially cheaper than electrolysis if done at large scale.  The problem with this that I can see is that the sulphur-iodine cycle which is generally considered most promissing, involves decomposition of sulphuric acid at temperatures above 800°C.  Sulphuric is always corrosive.  But dealing with H2SO4 and SO2 at temperatures that high is going to be a real materials challenge.  Specialty stainless steels and nickel alloys probably.  Coating are possible.  Ceramic coatings will resist corrosion, but would be vulnerable to cracking.  This is something that needs a lot of thought.

Last edited by Calliban (2024-02-07 09:20:48)


"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

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#108 2024-02-07 11:43:01

Void
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Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,976

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

Your work looks very useful to me.  A hypersaline lake could serve as a heat sink, and technically a thermal storage at say 20 to 90 degrees C.

Then using some type of suitable fluid, I hope maybe a hydrocarbon, the heat of the lake can drive a turbine system with solar panels or mirrors doubling as radiators to take advantage of the deep cold that Mars can provide.

Done


Done.

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#109 2024-02-22 18:47:43

tahanson43206
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Registered: 2018-04-27
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Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

The article at the link below is about a hybrid of a trough collector and solar cells...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo … 5c2&ei=105

Research team develops parabolic trough solar module for hybrid electricity and heat generation
Story by Science X staff • 9h

The parabolic trough collector is manufactured using industrial production methods such as injection molding. Credit: EMS–TU Graz
© Provided by Tech Xplore

Solar rays focused on concentrator photovoltaic cells using parabolic mirrors not only supply electricity, but also thermal energy for industrial processes, heating or cooling. Three technological innovations significantly reduce costs.

An international team led by Armin Buchroithner from the Institute of Electrical Measurement and Sensor Systems at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) has developed a parabolic trough collector with cost-effective photovoltaic cells that can be used to generate solar power and thermal energy at the same time.

The solar module developed consists of a trough-shaped concave mirror that focuses the sun's rays onto the photovoltaic cells arranged in the focal line. The waste heat from the solar cells is transferred to a heat transfer fluid that flows along the back of the cells in a system of pipes. The thermal and electrical energy generated in this way can, for instance, be used for climate-neutral heating and cooling of buildings or for various industrial purposes, e.g., in the food or textile industry.

The idea of generating electricity and heat from solar radiation at the same time has been around since the 1970s, but has not been successful due to high costs and technological problems. This could now change, as Buchroithner's team has succeeded in developing several technological innovations in the course of the ECOSun—Economic COgeneration by Efficiently COncentrated SUNlight research project.

Related video: New Solar Panel Concept Could Help Drive the Transition to Renewable Energy (Dailymotion)

Solar radiation is amplified 60- to 120-fold

In cooperation with the partner IMK Solarmirrotec, the parabolic trough collectors were manufactured much more efficiently using industrial production methods such as injection molding technology. The silicon solar cells developed with the Turkish research center GÜNAM are cost-effective and robust, so that they can withstand the high temperatures of concentrated sunlight.

This is an important factor, since the parabolic trough mirrors amplify the solar irradiation by a factor of 60 to 120. The researchers were also able to optimize the cooling of the solar cells, making the waste heat more usable for further applications.

"This approach has the potential to make a significant contribution to the energy transition," says Armin Buchroithner. So far, parabolic trough solar power plants have been located almost exclusively in particularly sunny regions such as Spain or the Persian Gulf.

"However, our tests have shown that it can also be useful here in Austria or other regions to replace fossil fuels in industrial processes," says Buchroithner. "Given the rising energy prices and the desire for energy independence, the importance of independent, efficient, and cost-effective solutions for the supply of electricity and heat is increasing."

Provided by Graz University of Technology

This story was originally published on Tech Xplore. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sci-tech news updates.

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(th)

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#110 2024-02-22 18:56:38

SpaceNut
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From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
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Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

Solar cells breakdown and drop in power output as the temperature of them rise.. These must be a high temperature cell that is a differeent product.

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#111 2024-02-22 19:12:36

tahanson43206
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Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,756

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

For SpaceNut re #110...

Thanks for noting the work done with a hybrid trough and solar cell system... You are absolutely right ... according to the article, the solar cells are robust to handle heating, but they are also cooled by circulating fluid, which is itself a source of thermal energy to be used elsewhere.

I hope our members will search for additional information about the new system.

(th)

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#112 2024-03-21 19:48:26

SpaceNut
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From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,750

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

8.3. Solar Thermal Electric Power Generation

Flat plate collectors
Flat plate collector is the simplest technology of this kind, which is typically used for reaching temperatures usually no more than 100 degrees above ambient.

img_flat_collector.jpg

Concentrating collectors
image_concollectors.jpg

The above collectors are combined to a bigger energy conversion system. The larger scale solar thermal systems have higher efficiency than small systems.

The utility scale solar thermal systems include the following designs:

linear reflectors (heating temperatures ~280 oC);
parabolic trough (heating temperatures ~400 oC);
dish / engine systems (heating temperatures ~650 oC);
solar tower (heating temperatures ~>1000 oC).

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#113 2024-03-21 21:59:18

kbd512
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Posts: 7,362

Re: Trough Solar Collector- Design- Construction- Operation- Maintenance

Observations from the Curiosity rover in Gale crater, Mars have shown the presence of high abundances of manganese (>3 wt% MnO) within sedimentary rocks throughout the traverse. Such high Mn abundances point to the past presence of abundant liquid water and strongly oxidizing conditions.

We're going to use Mangalloy steel on Mars, because Mars has lots of Manganese and Sulfur.  Removing Sulfur impurities from steel is very important for strength / longevity / resistance to stress-corrosion cracking.  Here on Earth, Managanese is primarily utilized for removing impurities from steel, but Mangalloy is the original high-alloy steel.

It's tough, abrasion resistant, and in concentrations of 30% to 40% in steel or cast Irons, there is no crystalline phase change at LOX/LCH4 temperatures.  That means it will not loose that all-important ductility property during the frigid Martian nights.

Mangalloy has been or still is used for tank and off-road heavy machinery tracks, steel combat helmets, knives, swords, bank vaults, farming hand tools such as shovels / hoes / axes / bolt cutters, hard use off-road bicycle and motorcycle frames, passenger car structural components, piping, shot-peening steel, power hammers and anvils for metal forging, and rock crushers.  More recently, it's found use in cryogenic liquids storage tanks for LNG at terminals and aboard ships.  It's yield strength is better than austenitic stainless steels, which are no better than garden variety A36 plain carbon steel.  Mangalloy is non-magnetic.

Using what we already know exists in abundance on Mars, namely Iron and Manganese, we will have superior steel for a multitude of low service temperature applications.  These are the materials we need to fabricate habitable living spaces, tools, solar thermal power arrays, water and liquid cryogen storage tanks, manufacturing machinery, and vehicles.

High-manganese steel aims to lower LNG cargo and fuel tank costs

Hanwha Ocean R&D Institute head details the drive behind the successful development and commercialisation of high-manganese steel Type B and Type C LNG tanks

Most LNG cargo and fuel tanks are made using IMO-approved 36% nickel steel (invar), 9% nickel steel, stainless steel and aluminium, but a new, less expensive, robust material — high-manganese steel — is gaining increasing attention.

While traditional IMO-approved materials have proven robust and safe for handling the rigors of LNG cryogenic storage, they are expensive, and their production is inefficient, resulting in high manufacturing costs. This, in turn, increases the cost of building LNG carriers and LNG-fuelled ships — two core high-value products of South Korean shipbuilders.

This led to South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering) and domestic steel manufacturer POSCO undertaking a joint development project (JDP) in 2010, examining the feasibility of using high-manganese steel as an alternative to these traditional materials.

Joining in the JDP were five leading class societies (ABS, BV, DNV, KR and Lloyd’s Register). The goal of the JDP was ambitious: to develop and commercialise LNG cargo and fuel tanks that exhibited the same or superior qualities of handling the stresses of cryogenic storage, while reducing material cost and improving productivity. Completed a decade ago in 2013, the JDP also had national significance for South Korea, a global leader in LNG carrier and LNG-fuelled ship construction.

“High-manganese steel is 30% cheaper than 9% nickel steel”

In a paper presented as part of a panel on Advances in LNG carrier design and LNG-fuelled ships at LNG 2023 in Vancouver in July, Hanwha Ocean R&D Institute head, Joong Kyoo Kang, detailed the findings of the JDP and the South Korean shipbuilder’s subsequent development and commercialisation of IMO Type B and IMO Type C fuel tanks using high-manganese (Hi-Mn) steel.

To evaluate high-manganese (Hi-Mn) steel, Hanwha Ocean compared its cryogenic performance to current materials, including 9% nickel steel, stainless steel, and aluminium used in LNG storage tank manufacture approved by IMO and listed in the International Gas Code (IGC) and International Fuel Code (IGF).

Under the three-year project, the JDP undertook several complex technical challenges. The shipbuilder developed high-manganese steel construction technology, fabricated mock-ups, performed cryogenic tests, designed cryogenic tanks, and evaluated safety.

Steelmaker POSCO developed Hi-Mn steel materials and welding materials, while the class societies provided engineering support and material approval, conducted cryogenic tests and devised mock-up inspections.

In his paper, Mr Joong Kyoo Kang noted several attempts to commercialise Hi-Mn steel for cryogenic applications had been made in other countries but had failed due to the difficulty in producing steel without defects. One of the major reasons for failing to produce sound steel was the difficulty in developing the correct welding materials.

Using various fatigue tests, Hanwha Ocean in collaboration with POSCO was able to develop and improve welding materials suitable for each welding process. The JDP was completed in 2013.

One of the key takeaways noted by Mr Joong Kyoo Kang was that using Hi-Mn steel in the manufacture of the LNG tanks can achieve a weight reduction through reduced thickness, compared to other materials with similar low-temperature strength. This yielded improved productivity and increased competitiveness through material savings.

Additionally, its low coefficient of thermal expansion compared to other low-temperature materials reduces thermal stress caused by temperature changes in the LNG tank, making it superior in terms of design, he said.

POSCO reported its cryogenic Hi-Mn steel has globally high production rates and is relatively inexpensive. Besides noting its superior toughness and tensile strength compared to conventional materials, high-manganese steel is 30% cheaper than 9% nickel steel, according to the steelmaker.

“Hi-Mn steel is being examined for use in tanks for ammonia-powered ships”

The steel contains 22.5 to 25.5% manganese, maintaining excellent strength, even at cryogenic temperatures of -196 °C. Expectations are high in country that Hi-Mn steel will boost the competitiveness of several South Korean industries, from steelmaking to shipbuilding to LNG tank manufacture for land, vehicles and marine-based applications.

In 2018, IMO’s Marine Safety Committee approved interim guidelines for applying Hi-Mn steel in cryogenic LNG storage and fuel tanks. These guidelines outlined the requirements for designing and manufacturing Hi-Mn steel for LNG cargo and fuel tanks, ensuring compliance with IMO’s safety codes.

Hanwha Ocean has developed its own IMO Type B and C LNG tank designs, which are marketed under High Manganese steel Cargo Tank Independent Type- B (MCTIBR) and High Manganese steel Cargo Tank Independent Type-C (Mc-CR), respectively to distinguish them from existing IMO type B and C LNG tanks made of 9%-Ni steel.

Mr Joong Kyoo Kang noted general industry consensus was reached that IMO Type B tanks are the most effective and reliable solution for LNG fuel tanks for container ships because of their space effectiveness and structural robustness against sloshing. The featured characteristic of the Type B tank is the application of a partial secondary barrier instead of a full secondary barrier. This partial secondary barrier consists of a leakage path on the primary barrier, drip tray, and high-end verification engineering on the safety of the primary barrier, ie, tank boundary, against leakage.

Due to the comparatively more spacious open-deck area, IMO Type C tanks have been adopted for LNG fuel tanks in the LNG dual-fuel design of bulk carriers and very large crude carriers (VLCCs), one of the core ship types constructed by Hanwha Ocean. Working with a partner fabrication yard in South Korea, Hanwha Ocean developed a Hi-Mn IMO Type C independent tank.

The culmination of this 10-year development effort with POSCO has begun to bear fruit. According to Mr Joong Kyoo Kang, Hanwha Ocean has secured orders for its HiMN tanks for 36 LNG-fuelled ships, including orders for MCTIBR Type B fuel tank systems for 22 container ships and Mc-CR Type C fuel tank systems for 14 VLCCs. The first two VLCCs equipped with these Mc-CR Type C fuel tank systems were delivered last year.

Hanwha Ocean reported the first cube-shaped MCTIBR Type B fuel tank system was installed in a 24,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship last year.

Hanwha Ocean also has plans to employ Hi-Mn steel beyond LNG. Mr Joong Kyoo Kang confirmed that Hi-Mn steel is being examined for use in tanks for ammonia-powered ships and for hydrogen carriers. It has been confirmed that high-manganese steel has high stability at the supercool temperatures required for liquefied hydrogen (-253°C) compared to the existing stainless steel. Based on various tests and studies, plans are being made to apply the results to a mock-up of a liquefied hydrogen tank for verification tests.

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