Method and system for maintaining operating temperatures in a molten salt co-generating unit

Claim 1

In a molten salt co-generating steam supply system, the system including first and second steam supply units connected to a common load, the first unit adapted for continuous steam generation in alternating full system power and part system power output, the second unit adapted for alternating hot shutdown and partial system power generation, the first unit having a steam flow line to the load and a feed-water flow line from the load, the second unit having a primary fluid loop containing a molten salt and a secondary loop containing water as the working fluid, with a steam generating heat exchanger interposed therebetween, wherein the invention is a method of maintaining the steam generator components of the second unit in a hot standby condition when steam is being generated only by the first unit, comprising the steps of: connecting the first unit steam flow lines to the second unit secondary loop steam flow lines; connecting the first unit feed-water flow lines to the second unit secondary feed-water flow lines; whereby a fraction of the steam generated by the first unit bypasses the load and enters the steam line of the secondary loop, flows in reverse direction through the secondary steam generator and returns to the first unit through the secondary loop feed-water lines, such that the steam generator components are maintained near their normal operating temperatures.