Efficiency Enhancement of an Ammonia-Based Solar Thermochemical Energy Storage System Implemented with Hydrogen Permeation Membrane

Qi Xia, Shuaiming Feng, Mingmin Kong and Chen Chen
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Qi Xia: College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
Shuaiming Feng: College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
Mingmin Kong: College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
Chen Chen: College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-13

Abstract: The ammonia-based solar thermochemical energy storage (TCES) is one of the most promising solar TCESs. However, the solar-to-electric efficiency is still not high enough for further commercialization. The efficiency is limited by the high ammonia decomposition reaction temperature, which does not only increase the exergy loss through the heat recuperation but also causes a large re-radiation loss. Nonetheless, lowering the reaction temperature would impact the conversion and the energy storage capacity. Thanks to the recent development of the membrane technology, the hydrogen permeation membrane has the potential to enhance the conversion of ammonia decomposition under the moderate operating temperature. In this paper, an ammonia-based solar thermochemical energy storage system implemented with hydrogen permeation membrane is proposed for the first time. The system model has been developed using the Aspen Plus software implemented with user-defined Fortran subroutines. The model is validated by comparing model-generated reactor temperatures and conversions profiles with data from references. With the validated model, an exergy analysis is performed to investigate the main exergy losses of the system. Furthermore, the effects of the membrane on system efficiency improvement are studied. The results show that exergy loss in the charging loop is dominant, among which the exergy losses of Heat Exchanger E h,A , together with that of the re-radiation E r , play important roles. Compared with the conventional system, i.e., the system without the membrane, the E h,A and E r of the proposed system are more than 30% lower because the hydrogen permeation membrane can improve ammonia conversion at a lower endothermic reaction outlet temperature. Consequently, the proposed system, presumably realized by the parabolic trough collector at ~400 °C, has a theoretical solar-to-electric efficiency of ? ste , which is 4.4% higher than the conventional ammonia-based solar thermochemical energy storage system. Last but not least, the efficiency is 3.7% higher than that of a typical parabolic trough solar power plant, which verifies the thermodynamic feasibility of further commercialization.

Keywords: concentrating solar power; thermochemical energy storage; thermodynamic analysis; ammonia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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