Effective Separation of a Water in Oil Emulsion from a Direct Contact Latent Heat Storage System

Sebastian Ammann, Andreas Ammann, Rebecca Ravotti, Ludger J. Fischer, Anastasia Stamatiou and Jörg Worlitschek
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Sebastian Ammann: Competence Centre Thermal Energy Storage (CC TES), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Horw 6048, Switzerland
Andreas Ammann: Competence Centre Thermal Energy Storage (CC TES), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Horw 6048, Switzerland
Rebecca Ravotti: Competence Centre Thermal Energy Storage (CC TES), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Horw 6048, Switzerland
Ludger J. Fischer: Competence Centre Thermal Energy Storage (CC TES), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Horw 6048, Switzerland
Anastasia Stamatiou: Competence Centre Thermal Energy Storage (CC TES), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Horw 6048, Switzerland
Jörg Worlitschek: Competence Centre Thermal Energy Storage (CC TES), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Horw 6048, Switzerland

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: The problem of emulsification between Phase Change Material (PCM) and Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) in direct contact latent heat storage systems has been reported in various studies. This issue causes the PCM to flow out of the storage tank and crystallize at unwanted locations and thus presents a major limitation for the proper operation of such systems. These anomalies become more pronounced when high HTF flow rates are employed with the aim to achieve fast heat transfer rates. The goal of this paper is to find a method which will enable the fast separation of the formed emulsion and thus the uninterrupted operation of the storage unit. In this study, three separation methods were examined and the use of superhydrophobic filters was chosen as the best candidate for the demulsification of the PCM and HTF mixtures. The filter was produced by processing of a melamine sponge with different superhydrophobic adhesives and was tested with emulsions closely resembling the ones formed in a real direct contact setup. The superhydrophobic filter obtained, was able to separate the emulsions effectively while presenting a very high permeability (up to 1,194,980 kg h −1 m −2 bar −1 ). This is the first time the use of a superhydrophobic sponge has been investigated in the context of demulsification in direct contact latent heat storage.

Keywords: direct contact latent heat storage; direct contact heat exchange; superhydrophobic filter; separation; water in oil emulsion (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: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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