Thermo-Mechanical Storage of Electricity at Power Plant Scale

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolf-Dieter Steinmann
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Heat Storage ◽  
Storage Systems ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Thermal Storage ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Latent Heat Storage ◽  
Temperature Heat

The availability of cost effective storage capacity is considered essential for increasing the share of renewables in electricity generation. With the development of solar thermal power plants large thermal storage systems have become commercial in recent years. Various storage concepts are applied, systems using solid storage media are operated at a maximum temperature of 680 °C, other systems using molten salt as storage medium show thermal capacities in the GWh range. Heating these storage systems directly by surplus electricity and using the heat later during the discharge process to operate turbines is not very attractive, since the process is limited by the Carnot efficiency. Alternatively, surplus electricity can be used to transform low temperature heat into high temperature heat which is stored in a thermal storage system during the charging process. During discharge, this heat is used to drive a turbine generating electric energy. Theoretically, this concept allows a roundtrip efficiency of 100%. Various options for the implementation of this storage concept have been suggested, using air or CO2 as working fluids. Recently, DLR has demonstrated the operability of a latent heat storage system connected to a steam circuit at 100 bar. The availability of this latent heat storage technology allows new implementations of the storage concept based on heat transformation. Using a left-running Rankine cycle during the charging process, heat from the environment is used to evaporate steam, which is compressed using the surplus electricity. Superheated steam exiting the compressor flows through the thermal storage system composed of latent heat storage sections and sensible heat storage sections. After throttling, the water enters the evaporator again. During discharging, heat from the storage system is used to evaporate and superheat steam, which drives the turbine. A cascaded implementation of this concept, using ammonia for the low temperature part of the process, while water is used for the high temperature part, reaches a storage efficiency of 70%. The integration of low temperature waste heat sources allows the compensation of losses.

Experimental Investigation on a Latent Heat Thermal Storage Unit for Solar Cooling Application

Green ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Chidambaram ◽  
A. S. Ramana ◽  
G. Kamaraj ◽  
R. Velraj
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Solar Collector ◽  
Heat Storage ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Thermal Storage ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Storage Unit ◽  
Latent Heat Storage ◽  
Solar Cooling

AbstractConventional cooling technologies that utilize harmful refrigerants consume more energy and cause peak loads leading to negative environmental impacts. As the world grapples with the energy and environmental crisis, there is an urgent need to develop and promote environmentally benign sustainable cooling technologies. Solar cooling is one such promising technology, given the fact that solar energy is the cheapest and most widely available renewable energy that matches the cooling load requirements. However thermal storage systems are essential to overcome the disadvantage of the intermittent nature of solar energy and variations in the cooling demand. The enhanced utilization of solar energy and other consequences of thermal storage integrated systems have gained the attention of researchers in recent years. The concept of combined sensible and latent heat storage system is successfully introduced in several applications and it has many advantages. This paper presents the performance of the solar collector system and the charging characteristics of a PCM based latent heat thermal storage unit, which is designed to provide continuous supply of heat for the operation of 1 kW vapor absorption refrigeration unit. Investigations on PCM integrated thermal storage system have revealed improvement in heat storage capacity, lower heat loss and an increased solar collector efficiency due to better thermal stratification.

Numerical and Experimental Analysis of a PCM Thermal Storage System

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Sciacovelli ◽  
Vittorio Verda
Keyword(s):  
Latent Heat ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Heat Storage ◽  
Storage System ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Thermal Storage ◽  
Working Fluid ◽  
Latent Heat Storage ◽  
Thermal Enhancement ◽  
Charging And Discharging Processes

Phase-change materials (PCM) are particularly promising for thermal storage in energy systems where the working fluid is either characterized by small specific heat or small temperature difference. In these cases, sensible heat storage would involve small energy densities (i.e. energy per unit volume). Latent heat storage would allow one to reduce the volume of storage tanks, but also reduce problems related with thermal stratification. On the other hand, heat transfer in PCMs needs to be enhanced in order to complete the charging and discharging processes in reasonable time. This paper reports the numerical and experimental activity performed by the authors related with the design of latent heat storage systems for district heating applications. Among the various enhancement methods, fins present some technical advantages related with manufacturing and management, which make them suitable for the application in district heating systems. The following aspects are considered in this paper: 1) melting and solidification; 2) modeling approaches and validation; 3) thermal enhancement with circular, radial or Y-shaped fins.

Latent Heat Storage for Solar Steam Systems

2007 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolf-Dieter Steinmann ◽  
Rainer Tamme
Keyword(s):  
Latent Heat ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Heat Storage ◽  
Storage Systems ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Saturation Temperature ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Latent Heat Storage ◽  
Research Activities

Solar thermal systems, including direct steam generation in the absorbers, require isothermal energy storage systems. One option to fulfil this requirement is the application of phase change materials (PCMs) to absorb or release energy. The implementation of cost-effective storage systems demands the compensation of the low thermal heat conductivity that is characteristic for the candidate materials for PCM. Solar steam generation for power plants requires latent heat storage systems for a saturation temperature range between 200°C and 320°C. This paper describes the basic concepts investigated and first results of research activities aiming at the demonstration of a storage system using steam provided by parabolic trough collectors.

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