Overview of Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) Technology

1983 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-122
Author(s):  
Charles F. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Operating Experience ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Commercial Development ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The U.S

This paper presents an overview of what seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) is, how it can best be used, and its potential benefits and problems. ATES, the storage of thermal energy in underground aquifers in freshwater, considered to be the most viable form of the technology, is only economic on a large scale, but commercial operating experience demonstrates its technical feasibility, e.g. in China. The U.S. Department of Energy has spent several million dollars supporting research into ATES over the last decade, although field trials are currently curtailed. Despite lack of funding and unwillingness on the part of the private sector to take risks in commercial development, ATES can be shown to be a valuable source of energy, and money, saving, and could be effectively exploited to advantage.

scholarly journals Repurposing Reverse Osmosis Concentrate as a Low-Cost Thermal Energy Storage Medium

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-40
Author(s):  
Reza Baghaei Lakeh ◽  
◽  
Christopher Salerno ◽  
Ega P. Herlim ◽  
Joseph Kiriakos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Salt Content ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Surface Discharge ◽  
The U.S

The reject of the reverse osmosis water treatment process (aka brine, concentrate, ROC) is a mixture of salts that are dissolved in high salinity water. The ROC is classified as an industrial waste by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and can face regulatory limitations on disposal. State-of-the-art of ROC disposal includes deep-well injection, surface discharge to rivers, discharge to the ocean, and evaporation ponds. In this study, the feasibility of using Reverse Osmosis Concentrate as a low-cost Thermal Energy Storage (TES) medium is explored by a techno-economic analysis. The normalized cost of TES (cost per unit volume of stored thermal energy) is estimated through a series of cost analyses and is compared to the cost targets of the U.S. Department of Energy for low-cost thermal energy storage. It was shown that the normalized cost of TES using ROC salt content is in the range of $6.11 to $8.73 depending on ROC processing methods.

Effect of Design Parameters on the Performance of Thermal Energy Storage Systems

Solar Energy ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor P. Henze
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Energy Storage System ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Wide Range

This paper describes simulation-based results of a large-scale investigation of a commercial cooling plant including a thermal energy storage system. A cooling plant with an ice-on-coil system with external melt and a reciprocating compressor operating in a large office building was analyzed under four different control strategies. Optimal control as the strategy that minimizes the total operating cost (demand and energy charges) served as a benchmark to assess the performance of the three conventional controls. However, all control strategies depend on properly selected design parameters. The storage and chiller capacities as the primary design parameters were varied over a wide range and the dependence of the system’s cost saving performance on these parameters was evaluated.

scholarly journals Empirical Validation and Numerical Predictions of an Industrial Borehole Thermal Energy Storage System

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 2263
Author(s):  
Emil Nilsson ◽  
Patrik Rohdin
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Heat Extraction ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Numerical Predictions ◽  
Heat Injection

To generate performance predictions of borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) systems for both seasonal and short-term storage of industrial excess heat, e.g., from high to low production hours, models are needed that can handle the short-term effects. In this study, the first and largest industrial BTES in Sweden, applying intermittent heat injection and extraction down to half-day intervals, was modelled in the IDA ICE 4.8 environment and compared to three years of measured storage performance. The model was then used in a parametric study to investigate the change in performance of the storage from e.g., borehole spacing and storage supply flow characteristics at heat injection. For the three-year comparison, predicted and measured values for total injected and extracted energy differed by less than 1% and 3%, respectively and the mean relative difference for the storage temperatures was 4%, showing that the performance of large-scale BTES with intermittent heat injection and extraction can be predicted with high accuracy. At the actual temperature of the supply flow during heat injection, 40 °C, heat extraction would not exceed approximately 100 MWh/year for any investigated borehole spacing, 1–8 m. However, when the temperature of the supply flow was increased to 60–80 °C, 1400–3100 MWh/year, also dependent on the flow rate, could be extracted at the spacing yielding the highest heat extraction, which in all cases was 3–4 m.

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