Heat Storage

As stated in the Dynamic Sorption pages, the adsorption of a component on a porous materials is accompanied with the release of thermal energy (heat). There are multiple ways to utilize this energy for storage applications. Especially with vapor sorption large amounts of energy can be released at low vapor concentrations due to high binding energies.

The water/zeolite system is a prominent example for the utilization of the heat of adsorption. The system is used for both – heating and cooling purposes. A typical application is the roof-top air-conditioning of a building. The adsorption of water vapor on a zeolite is releasing heat. The heat flow can be controlled with the flow of humid gas through the zeolite packed bed. The regeneration (desorption) of the zeolite can be performed with solar thermal energy.

Breakthrough measurements with water vapor provide useful information relevant for adsorptive heat storage applications, e.g. temperature profiles within the adsorber, adsorption capacities, kinetics of adsorption, etc. Furthermore, Aging and regeneration studies can be conducted under industrially relevant conditions. With some additional data, breakthrough curves can be converted into heat power curves, characteristic for an open adsorptive heat storage at certain process conditions.

Recommended Literature

S. K. Henninger, F. Jeremias, H. Kummer, P. Schossig, H.-M. Henning, Novel Sorption Materials for Solar Heating and Cooling, Energy Procedia 2012, 30, 279.

B. Mette, H. Kerskes, H. Drück, Concepts of long-term thermochemical energy storage for solar thermal applications – Selected examples, Energy Procedia 2012, 30, 321.