System efficiency and power assessment of the all-aqueous copper thermally regenerative ammonia battery

Nicholas R. Cross, Matthew J. Rau, Serguei N. Lvov, Christopher A. Gorski, Bruce E. Logan and Derek M. Hall

Applied Energy, 2023, vol. 339, issue C, No S0306261923003239

Abstract: Thermally regenerative ammonia batteries (TRABs) use low-temperature (T < 100 °C) heat to provide stationary energy and power with higher power densities and efficiency relative to other waste heat devices. TRABs are an active area of research in waste heat devices, but currently there is little consensus on what aspect of the system is limiting TRAB performance and what maximum efficiencies are possible. Experiments and numerical models were used here to examine the sensitivity of the battery and distillation column in a TRAB system to key operating variables, thereby establishing practical limits and identifying focus areas for improving performance. Battery power was eight times more sensitive to ohmic losses than kinetic and mass transfer losses, regardless of the operating temperature, and the peak power density was simulated to be 18.8 mW cm−2 at 75 °C. Theoretical energy efficiency limits were defined for a series of ammonia concentrations and operating pressures, ranging from 5 − 12%, which is 2–3 times higher than previous experimental estimations. Atmospheric pressure column operation used a larger amount of waste heat compared to sub-atmospheric pressure. It is estimated that the volume of the battery would take up 9.2 m3 for every 1% of the power output of a natural gas turbine, but with realistic improvements to cell conductivity, the size would reduce to 2.5 m3. The results presented in this work will help streamline future development by focusing on minimizing ohmic losses and provide specific data for full system evaluation of future TRABs.

Keywords: Low-grade waste heat; Thermally regenerative battery; Flow battery; Energy efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120959

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