scholarly journals Numerical Investigation of the Influences of Wellbore Flow on Compressed Air Energy Storage in Aquifers

Geofluids ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Li ◽  
Keni Zhang ◽  
Litang Hu ◽  
Jinsheng Wang

With the blossoming of intermittent energy, compressed air energy storage (CAES) has attracted much attention as a potential large-scale energy storage technology. Compared with caverns as storage vessels, compressed air energy storage in aquifers (CAESA) has the advantages of wide availability and lower costs. The wellbore can play an important role as the energy transfer mechanism between the surroundings and the air in CAESA system. In this paper, we investigated the influences of the well screen length on CAESA system performance using an integrated wellbore-reservoir simulator (T2WELL/EOS3). The results showed that the well screen length can affect the distribution of the initial gas bubble and that a system with a fully penetrating wellbore can obtain acceptably stable pressurized air and better energy efficiencies. Subsequently, we investigated the impact of the energy storage scale and the target aquifer depth on the performance of a CAESA system using a fully penetrating wellbore. The simulation results demonstrated that larger energy storage scales exhibit better performances of CAESA systems. In addition, deeper target aquifer systems, which could decrease the energy loss by larger storage density and higher temperature in surrounding formation, can obtain better energy efficiencies.

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Li ◽  
Yi Li ◽  
Yaning Liu ◽  
Xiaoyuan Cao

Abstract Compressed air energy storage in aquifers (CAESA) can be considered a novel and potential large-scale energy storage technology in the future. However, currently, the research on CAESA is relatively scarce and no actual engineering practices have yet been performed due to a lack of detailed theoretical and technical support. This article provides a summary and analysis of the current research about the key problems in CAESA. The theoretical foundation and evaluation methods are first addressed, and then the aquifer selection criteria are proposed by analyzing the impact of the main geological factors on the performance. Subsequently, the optimal design of wellbore and the operation parameters are discussed, and different possible enhanced methods are proposed for extending the application of CAESA. Finally, conclusions are made and application outlook is addressed.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 4054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youssef Benchaabane ◽  
Rosa Elvira Silva ◽  
Hussein Ibrahim ◽  
Adrian Ilinca ◽  
Ambrish Chandra ◽  
...  

Remote and isolated communities in Canada experience gaps in access to stable energy sources and must rely on diesel generators for heat and electricity. However, the cost and environmental impact resulting from the use of fossil fuels, especially in local energy production, heating, industrial processes and transportation are compelling reasons to support the development and deployment of renewable energy hybrid systems. This paper presents a computer model for economic analysis and risk assessment of a wind–diesel hybrid system with compressed air energy storage. The proposed model is developed from the point of view of the project investor and it includes technical, financial, risk and environmental analysis. Robustness is evaluated through sensitivity analysis. The model has been validated by comparing the results of a wind–diesel case study against those obtained using HOMER (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States) and RETScreen (Natural Resources Canada, Government of Canada, Canada) software. The impact on economic performance of adding energy storage system in a wind–diesel hybrid system has been discussed. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of such hybrid system as a suitable power generator in terms of high net present value and internal rate of return, low cost of energy, as well as low risk assessment. In addition, the environmental impact is positive since less fuel is used.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 4188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kangyu Deng ◽  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Xinran Xue ◽  
Hui Zhou

Renewable energy (wind and solar power, etc.) are developing rapidly around the world. However, compared to traditional power (coal or hydro), renewable energy has the drawbacks of intermittence and instability. Energy storage is the key to solving the above problems. The present study focuses on the compressed air energy storage (CAES) system, which is one of the large-scale energy storage methods. As a lot of underground coal mines are going to be closed in China in the coming years, a novel CAES system is proposed for application in roadways of the closing coal mines. The new system combines pumped-hydro and compressed-air methods, and features constant air pressure and temperature. Another specific character of the system is the usage of flexible bags to store the compressed air, which can effectively reduce air leakage. The governing equations of the system are derived, and the response of the system is analyzed. According to the equations, for a roadway with depth of 500 m and volume of 10,000 cubic meters, the power generation capacity of the CAES system is approximately 18 MW and the generating time is 1.76 h. The results show that the new CAES system proposed is reasonable, and provides a suitable way to utilize the underground space of coal mines.


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