Standby efficiency and thermocline degradation of a packed bed thermal energy storage: An experimental study

Paul Schwarzmayr, Felix Birkelbach, Heimo Walter and René Hofmann

Applied Energy, 2023, vol. 337, issue C, No S0306261923002817

Abstract: The waste heat potential from industrial processes is tremendous and if it can be utilized it may significantly contribute to the mitigation of climate change. A packed bed thermal energy storage system is a low-cost storage technology that can be employed to enable the utilization of waste heat from industrial processes. This system can be used to store excess heat and release this energy when it is needed at a later time. To ensure the efficient operation of a packed bed thermal energy storage, its characteristics in standby mode need to be studied in great detail. In the present study, the standby efficiency and thermocline degradation of a lab-scale packed bed thermal energy storage in standby mode is experimentally investigated for different flow directions of the heat transfer fluid during the preceding charging period. Results show that for long standby periods, the standby efficiency is significantly affected by the flow direction of the heat transfer fluid. The maximum entropy generation rate for a 22h standby process with the flow direction of the heat transfer fluid from the bottom to the top in the preceding charging process is twice as high as for the same process with reversed flow direction. Energy efficiency is 5% higher whilst exergy efficiency is even 18% higher in the process with reversed flow direction.

Keywords: Packed bed; Thermal energy storage; Standby mode; Stratification; Thermocline degradation; Energy/exergy efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261923002817
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:337:y:2023:i:c:s0306261923002817

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120917

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().