pH value and conductivity measurement for power plants - Energy
Growing populations – about 80 million every year – and industrializing countries create huge needs for electrical energy. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) the global energy demand will increase by about 65% by 2035. A major fraction of the required energy will continue to be provided by thermal – mainly fossil fuel-fired and nuclear – power plants. "Renewable" energy sources such as photovoltaics (PV) will be another backbone of our energy supply. Putting renewable energy on the grid requires powerful energy storage and conversion devices, such as supercapacitors, batteries, or fuel cells.
Overview
For these technologies to work at maximum efficiency, all constituents of power installations have to perform at the highest level: be it the monitoring of the water chemistry in thermal power plants, the wet chemical processing of solar cells and battery electrolytes, or electrochemical measurements of energy storage devices, Metrohm provides the adequate analytical solution.
Power plant analysis
The bulk of electricity is generated by fossil-fuel or nuclear power plants. These methods of energy production involve water-steam circuits that drive turbines. The extreme conditions in the reactors are conducive to corrosion, which reduces the power plant’s output, causes downtimes, or even jeopardizes the power plant’s safety.
This is why monitoring of the water chemistry in power plants is of paramount importance. Read more about the challenges power plants are facing and what solutions Metrohm can provide:
- Corrosion measurement
- Water chemistry for two water circuits
- Water chemistry for three water circuits
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaic (PV) cells or solar cells convert energy of light directly into electricity. Common materials consist of monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon, thin-film solar cells, or the third-generation multilayer cells.
Besides fully integrated bath analysis for crystalline silicon, thin film (CIS/CIGS, CdTe, a-Si), and other cell types, we offer real-time methods for controlling the etch rates and surface characteristics. Additionally, we provide instruments and methods for straightforward analyses of (photo-) electrochemical processes in dye-sensitized and all other solar cells.
Energy storage and conversion
Energy demand and supply seldom coincide. In particular, renewable energy cannot be stored very efficiently and is therefore often not at hand when needed. Electrochemical, chemical, and electrical energy storage (EES) systems – mainly batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells – are promising means to balance availability and energy demand.
Metrohm is electrochemistry, and all over the world researchers use our sophisticated instruments for production, characterization, and development of materials and cells.