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ABSTRACT
Thermal energy storage has the potential to decarbonize the heating sector, facilitating the use of renewable energy sources, in particular solar thermal energy. In this paper we present a study on thermochemical storage material composed of inorganic salts hosted in the porous matrix of zeolite 13X; we prepared a series of composites containing different amounts of inorganic salts – MgCl2, MgSO4 by impregnation method and we characterized them by multiple experimental techniques: energy storage and adsorption/desorption rates were assessed using simultaneous thermal analysis by coupling thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry, microstructure, and composition were assessed through scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Finally, thermal conductivity was measured by laser flash analysis. With our composite material, we achieved an energy density of 400 kJ/kg across the temperature range 30–150°C and a 35% increase in thermal conductivity by adding 1% of multiwall carbon nanotubes. These features make the material an interesting option for thermal storage in buildings. We attribute the behavior of the material to the combination of large zeolite-specific area coupled with the heat of water sorption/hydration of MgCl2, MgSO4.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the finance support from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research (EPSRC) Council, UK – SUPERGEN Energy Storage Hub (1EP/L019469/1), Energy Storage for Low Carbon Grids (EP/K002252/1). Dr. Sciacovelli acknowledges Universitas 21 Staff Fellowship for financial support; he would also like to thank Prof. Paul Webley (University of Melbourne) for his useful suggestions on adsorption processes.
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Notes on contributors
Lawrence Shere
Lawrence Shere is a recent master graduate in Chemical Engineering, studying at the University of Birmingham. His research, conducted at the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage, has looked at producing and testing potential thermochemical materials for thermal energy storage.
Siddharth Trivedi
Siddharth Trivedi graduated with MEng (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham in 2016. He joined the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage, researching thermochemical energy storage density of novel Zeolite 13X composite salt porous matrices and their use in solar thermal energy storage. He was the Chair of SATNAV Science Magazine, and was nominated for Inspirational Committee Member and Role Model of the Year awards for his contribution to the scientific community, whilst SATNAV was short-listed for the Head of College Idea of the Year under his leadership at the University of Birmingham's yearly Engineering and Physical Sciences Societies’ Awards 2016.
Samuel Roberts
Samuel Roberts is a Chemical Engineer from the University of Birmingham. He received his MEng in 2016, where he worked on thermochemical energy storage using zeolites and zeolite-based compounds for his final year research project. The project focused on thermal energy transfer within the storage materials.
Adriano Sciacovelli
Adriano Sciacovelli is a Lecturer in the School of Chemical Engineering working within the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage. His research focuses on the design of new materials and devices to store hot and cold thermal energy for more efficient and sustainable energy systems. He works on multiple EPSRC and industrial projects. He has published more than 40 papers in international journals and regularly gives talks at international conferences. He has been recently awarded with the U21 Staff Fellowship and with the Edward F Obert Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineering.
Yulong Ding
Yulong Ding holds the founding Chamberlain chair of Chemical Engineering and RAEng- Highview Chair of Cryogenic Energy Storage. He is the founding Director of the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage at the University of Birmingham (UoB) and founding Co-Director of Joint UoB – GEIRIEU Lab for Energy Storage Research. His current research interests cover both fundamental and applied aspects, with the fundamental research focusing on multiphase transport phenomena across the length scales, and microstructured materials for heat transfer intensification and energy harvesting and storage applications. He has filed over 30 patents, and published over 400 papers with ∼200 in peer reviewed journals (H-Index of ∼ 47). He is an inventor of the liquid air energy storage technology and led the initial stage of development of the technology.