Thermal Analysis of a Thermal Energy Storage Unit to Enhance a Workshop Heating System Driven by Industrial Residual Water

Wenqiang Sun, Zuquan Zhao and Yanhui Wang
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Wenqiang Sun: Department of Thermal Engineering, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
Zuquan Zhao: Department of Thermal Engineering, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
Yanhui Wang: Department of Thermal Engineering, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: Various energy sources can be used for room heating, among which waste heat utilization has significantly improved in recent years. However, the majority of applicable waste heat resources are high-grade or stable thermal energy, while the low-grade or unstable waste heat resources, especially low-temperature industrial residual water (IRW), are insufficiently used. A thermal energy storage (TES) unit with paraffin wax as a phase change material (PCM) is designed to solve this problem in a pharmaceutical plant. The mathematical models are developed to simulate the heat storage and release processes of the TES unit. The crucial parameters in the recurrence formulae are determined: the phase change temperature range of the paraffin wax used is 47 to 56 °C, and the latent heat is 171.4 kJ/kg. Several thermal behaviors, such as the changes of melting radius, solidification radius, and fluid temperature, are simulated. In addition, the amount of heat transferred, the heat transfer rate, and the heat storage efficiency are discussed. It is presented that the medicine production unit could save 10.25% of energy consumption in the investigated application.

Keywords: industrial residual water (IRW); thermal energy storage (TES); phase change material (PCM); paraffin wax; workshop heating (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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